Policy-makers from around the globe gathered in Geneva, Switzerland, from 9-11 October 2024 for the inaugural Alliance Policy-maker Forum. The Forum is part of the Alliance’s commitment to enhance the perspectives of policy-makers in evidence-informed policy-making, promote cross-country learning and dialogue and establish a platform for exchange with global health funders.
The diverse group included policy-makers from Brazil, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Africa and the West Bank. Despite the differences in their health systems, the discussions revealed common challenges and opportunities to improve data, knowledge, research and learning to improve health policies and systems. Issues such as trust and coalition-building, political instability and even the tribulations of working with more senior policy-makers were prevalent themes.
Policy-makers recognized that convenings such as the Forum allow for sharing lessons and adapting successful strategies from one context to another. Endegena Abebe Gemta, Executive Officer at the Policy, Strategy and Research Lead Executive Office of the federal Ministry of Health in Ethiopia, emphasized the use of storytelling as a powerful tool for engagement to inspire action and connect diverse stakeholders. Policy-makers agreed on the importance of sharing stories and experiences across different regions, as it fosters immediate connections and allows actors to learn from one another’s contexts.
Rubayat Khan, Director of Health Programmes at Endless Network, engaged with the policy-makers in a lively discussion on the potential of using artificial intelligence (AI) as an emerging tool in health research. Policy-makers discussed the implications of AI for transforming health care delivery, the importance of integrating personal health intelligence into health systems and the need to rethink public health strategies in light of these technological advancements. They also highlighted the unresolved issues that policy-making has yet to address in relation to the digital transformation – challenges of regulation and equity were top-most concerns.
Present at this year’s gathering were global health funders from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). It is envisioned that future convenings will include other funders.
There was an energy and spirit of collaboration in the room, with participants keen to move from simply thinking together, to doing together. Keith Cloete, head of the Western Cape Department of Health in South Africa, facilitated the forum. Reflecting on the atmosphere, he noted: “What made this Forum truly special was the sense of openness and trust we cultivated together, allowing us to bring our diverse experiences to the table. We were able to move from a space of understanding shared challenges to co-creating a network to help each other think through them.”
Kumanan Rasanathan, Executive Director of the Alliance, reflected on the importance of the event, saying: “This Forum is an important step in our journey toward ensuring country-level impact on priority areas for health. Fostering sincere partnerships and collaboration both with and among policy-makers is a key ingredient to making this happen.”
As the meeting drew to a close, the policy-makers involved expressed a strong commitment to continue their efforts, with plans to cascade activities at national and subnational level in their countries, and work jointly to publish lessons and reflections from their respective countries. The Alliance committed to hosting the next convening of the Forum in 2025, ensuring that the network formed during these three days would remain active and engaged.