A joint webinar convened by the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, the Division of Healthier Populations (WHO/HQ) and the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office of WHO.
A whole-of-government approach is one in which public service agencies work across portfolio boundaries, formally and informally, to achieve a shared goal and an integrated government response to particular issues. It aims to achieve policy coherence in order to improve effectiveness and efficiency. (WHA A68/17)
A whole-of-government (WoG) approach, though challenging, can transform policy, planning and programming towards achieving health and well-being goals. As governments respond to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic by putting WoG approaches in practice, this webinar with policy-makers, front-line responders and academia, will explore how to leverage this response and apply a systems-thinking approach to improve health and well-being outcomes in countries.
The discussion considered the following key areas:
- Examples of countries using a WoG response for COVID-19.
- Key emerging learning from WoG responses, and understanding the potential to replicate the approach for the health and well-being agenda under the WHO’s triple billion targets and the SDGs.
- How to convert good examples of WoG into best practices and institutionalize them within countries.
Opening remarks
- Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, Regional Director, WHO/EMRO
- Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist, WHO/HQ
Country case studies
Moderated by Dr Abdul Ghaffar, Executive Director, the Alliance
- Egypt: Dr Maha El Rabbat, former Minister of Health and DG WHO’s Special Envoy on COVID-19
- IR Iran: Dr Mohammed Assai Ardakani, Advisor to the Minister of Health, IR Iran
- Pakistan: Dr Assad Hafeez, Dean, Health Services Academy
Reflections on case studies
Moderated by Dr Arash Rashidan, Director Science, Information and Dissemination, WHO/EMRO
- Dr Richard Brennan, Regional Emergency Director, WHO/EMRO
- Dr Gerald Rockenschaub, WHO Representative, occupied Palestinian territory
Invited responses
Moderated by Dr Arash Rashidan, Director Science, Information and Dissemination, WHO/EMRO
- Dr Maha El-Adawy, Director Healthier Populations (Well-being)
- Dr Awad Mataria, Director UHS, WHO/EMRO (Health systems)
- Dr Carmel Williams, Government of South Australia
Plenary discussion
Concluding insights and way forward by Dr Naoko Yamamoto, Assistant Director-General, Healthier Populations, WHO/HQ.