COVID-19 and fragile settings – UHC2030 International Health Partnership Policy Brief

In all countries, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a four-fold challenge: how to control transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus; how to provide care to COVID-infected individuals at different levels of existing health systems; how to protect essential health services; and how to mitigate the political, social, and economic consequences of the pandemic. Fundamental limitations in governance and legitimacy add to the challenge in fragile contexts, with pre-existing weaknesses in health services delivery and inadequate financial and human resources.

This policy brief from the UHC2030 Fragile Settings Technical Working Group – to which Professor Sophie Witter of ReBUILD for Resilience contributed – has three main messages:

• Global guidance on COVID-19 response strategies should be adapted to context-specific and evolving needs in fragile settings
• An urgent call to protect funding for health in fragile settings
• Despite many unknowns in fragile settings, important practical lessons are emerging about how to enhance COVID-19 response and recovery

Access the brief on the UHC2030 website.

More on ReBUILD for Resilience’s involvement with UHC2030 here.