Many factors affect the performance of the health systems in the region. Particularly significant is governance in health systems, which has never been as visibly important for the MENA region as it has been since the Arab Spring. Recognizing this, the MENA Health Policy Forum (HPF) conceptualized its third regional symposium under the overarching theme of interventions for good governance and social accountability for improved health system performance.
The symposium is part of a broader MENA HPF program with the overall aim to improve governance of health systems in the MENA region through:
- Improving alignment of research and policy agendas;
- Empowering key decision-makers across sectors to foster new and innovative ways of acting and collaborating to achieve transformational change
- Supporting activities to increase transparency and accountability by regional or national cross-sectoral alliances.
The symposium event itself had a three-fold objective:
- Provide a platform for dialogue amongst multi-discipline stakeholders;
- Share lessons and experience about improving governance of health systems;
- To develop new insights and understanding to support the improvement of governance of health systems.
Designed as a highly participatory, dynamic and interactive multistakeholder event, the symposium included facilitated multistakeholder dialogues, “enlightening talks” on national perspectives on the importance of governance in the health sector, information exchange and knowledge sharing, and networking.Sixty-five representatives from 12 countries in the MENA region participated in the two-day event.
Participants included government officials, policy makers, civil society representatives, academics, health sector practitioners, private sector, and international NGOs, from both the health and economic development sectors, and development partners. The event was organized and delivered by the MENA Health Polity Forum in collaboration with the World Bank and the World Bank Institute, and with support from IDRC/GHRI.
