Historically, at the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, we have focused our work on supporting research to strengthen the six building blocks of health systems. And while these building blocks remain central to our mandate, it is also time to look beyond them.
This is the strategic direction laid out in the Alliance's new five-year strategic plan for 2021-2025: Broadening horizons.
Approved earlier this year by our Board, this strategic plan outlines our commitment to furthering the field of health policy and systems research. It builds on our previous strengths and successes, as we have showcased in our
2020 annual report and in the strategic plan itself, but it also charts new directions. For example, we will continue to explore the broader determinants of health, but we will also generate knowledge on how health systems can better prepare and respond more effectively during emergencies.
Our work toward the mission and objectives outlined in this strategic plan has already begun. Last month, our correspondence in the Lancet, Time to reconceptualise health systems, made the case for the need to move beyond the false dichotomy of investing in health security or health promotion and instead focus on how strategic investments reinforce each other to strengthen health systems that move towards universal health coverage – a topic that we will explore further as we begin the development of a new flagship report.
The new strategic plan also represents our continued commitment to our core principles of learning, systems thinking, equity and collaboration. It is the result of an in-depth consultation with our stakeholders and partners – especially those in low- and middle-income countries – who have guided the process and input into priorities for the field.