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Partnerships that support health systems resilience over time: a study of non-state, faith-based health providers in Africa

Health systems resilience is an emerging issue in health policy and systems research, yet limited information exists on how resilient health systems are developed and the different elements that contribute to whole (national) health systems resilience. In this study, resilience is understood from th...

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Main Author: Maulit, Jolly Ann
Other Authors: Olivier, Jill
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Public Health and Family Medicine 2017
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access_status_str Open Access
author Maulit, Jolly Ann
author2 Olivier, Jill
author_browse Maulit, Jolly Ann
Olivier, Jill
author_facet Olivier, Jill
Maulit, Jolly Ann
author_sort Maulit, Jolly Ann
collection Thesis
description Health systems resilience is an emerging issue in health policy and systems research, yet limited information exists on how resilient health systems are developed and the different elements that contribute to whole (national) health systems resilience. In this study, resilience is understood from the socio-ecological lens applicable for complex adaptive systems. Resilience therefore is not only the ability of a health system to address disturbances and restore its basic structures and functions, but also the ability of a health system to transform or re-organise in response to a disturbance if the current system is no longer tenable for the context. Along with the rise in the interest in health systems resilience is a renewed focus on partnership with nonstate providers (NSPs) to complement national health systems. The role of NSPs in supporting health systems resilience however has been largely unexplored. This study thus explores the topic of resilience with respect to health systems and focuses on a particular NSP type – namely, faith-based health providers (FBHPs). It describes four country cases of Ghana, Malawi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Sudan - where FBHPs, though their inclusion in the health system and the activities they undertook, appear to have influenced the resilience of national health systems. FBHPs have played critical roles in strengthening health systems, which has been argued to be a key source of resilience. Their presence also diversified the actors in the health system, enabling them to step in as an alternative service provider when government services were unavailable. Historically, FBHPs appeared to be more flexible which allowed them to respond more quickly during times of crises. This flexibility in operations, coupled with their mission to serve marginalized populations, have supported the development of innovations for the poor, which in some instances have been adopted by national governments. As such, FBHPs have not only acted as buffers in times of shocks or stressors, but have also supported the transformation of national health systems for the better. Recent trends of closer integration with governments however are increasing the interdependencies between FBHPs and the public sector, which have potential to make health systems more vulnerable and less resilient.
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language eng
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license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2017
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spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/25455 Partnerships that support health systems resilience over time: a study of non-state, faith-based health providers in Africa Maulit, Jolly Ann Olivier, Jill Public Health Health Systems Health systems resilience is an emerging issue in health policy and systems research, yet limited information exists on how resilient health systems are developed and the different elements that contribute to whole (national) health systems resilience. In this study, resilience is understood from the socio-ecological lens applicable for complex adaptive systems. Resilience therefore is not only the ability of a health system to address disturbances and restore its basic structures and functions, but also the ability of a health system to transform or re-organise in response to a disturbance if the current system is no longer tenable for the context. Along with the rise in the interest in health systems resilience is a renewed focus on partnership with nonstate providers (NSPs) to complement national health systems. The role of NSPs in supporting health systems resilience however has been largely unexplored. This study thus explores the topic of resilience with respect to health systems and focuses on a particular NSP type – namely, faith-based health providers (FBHPs). It describes four country cases of Ghana, Malawi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Sudan - where FBHPs, though their inclusion in the health system and the activities they undertook, appear to have influenced the resilience of national health systems. FBHPs have played critical roles in strengthening health systems, which has been argued to be a key source of resilience. Their presence also diversified the actors in the health system, enabling them to step in as an alternative service provider when government services were unavailable. Historically, FBHPs appeared to be more flexible which allowed them to respond more quickly during times of crises. This flexibility in operations, coupled with their mission to serve marginalized populations, have supported the development of innovations for the poor, which in some instances have been adopted by national governments. As such, FBHPs have not only acted as buffers in times of shocks or stressors, but have also supported the transformation of national health systems for the better. Recent trends of closer integration with governments however are increasing the interdependencies between FBHPs and the public sector, which have potential to make health systems more vulnerable and less resilient. 2017-09-28T05:33:35Z 2017-09-28T05:33:35Z 2017 Master Thesis Masters MPH http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25455 eng application/pdf Department of Public Health and Family Medicine Faculty of Health Sciences University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Public Health
Health Systems
Maulit, Jolly Ann
Partnerships that support health systems resilience over time: a study of non-state, faith-based health providers in Africa
thesis_degree_str Master's
title Partnerships that support health systems resilience over time: a study of non-state, faith-based health providers in Africa
title_full Partnerships that support health systems resilience over time: a study of non-state, faith-based health providers in Africa
title_fullStr Partnerships that support health systems resilience over time: a study of non-state, faith-based health providers in Africa
title_full_unstemmed Partnerships that support health systems resilience over time: a study of non-state, faith-based health providers in Africa
title_short Partnerships that support health systems resilience over time: a study of non-state, faith-based health providers in Africa
title_sort partnerships that support health systems resilience over time a study of non state faith based health providers in africa
topic Public Health
Health Systems
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25455
work_keys_str_mv AT maulitjollyann partnershipsthatsupporthealthsystemsresilienceovertimeastudyofnonstatefaithbasedhealthprovidersinafrica