HFI Newsletter
Issue 1 - July 2019
HFI's Inaugural Symposium on
Innovative Financing for Global NCDs
Left to right: Alan Donnelly (G20 Health and Development Partnership), Dr. Christoph Benn (Joep Lange Institute), Dr. Kibachio Joseph Muiruri Mwangi (Kenya, MOH), Dr. Ilona Kickbusch (Geneva Graduate Institute), Dr. Andrea Feigl (HFI), Surabhi Bhatt (HFI), Arnaud Bernaert (WEF), Dr. Margaret Agama-Anyetei (African Union), and Dr. Anders Norsdström (Sweden).
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Introducing the Health Finance Institute
The Health Finance Institute (HFI) was formed in 2019 and it aims to expand the fiscal space for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) globally. By catalyzing financing and building partnerships, we work to increase access to prevention, management, treatment, and control of NCDs, helping achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3: good health and well-being.
Our strategy feeds into our vision of catalyzing and scaling pathways to close the investment gap for NCDs. We will incubate novel health financing instruments and multisectoral partnerships which respond to country needs for financing of NCD prevention and control. As a knowledge broker and operational partner for investment and financing modalities for health, we will research, design and pilot financial products.
We work with government entities to increase financing, sustainability, and scale-up of their NCDs plans, and integration into the broader health systems agenda of universal health coverage. We also work closely with non-state service providers and implementers, including not-for-profit and for-profit organizations, who are developing or scaling up their NCD portfolio.
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What’s New at HFI?
- On May the 21st, 2019 alongside the 72nd World Health Assembly, we organized its Inaugural Symposium on Financing for NCDs in Geneva, Switzerland at the Geneva Graduate Institute. Check out our Symposium report.
- We are thrilled to have begun our second phase of work with WHO High Level Commission on NCDs, to support the Commission’s work to understand the need and scope for a global catalytic multidonor trust fund for NCDs and mental health.
- HFI has expanded! We recently added a Communications Associate and two global health experts to the team! Our Advisory Board is growing, also! A ‘Meet the Team’ newsletter is coming soon...
Panel 2 during HFI's Inaugural Symposium
Left to right: Surabhi Bhatt (HFI), Dr. Andrea Feigl (HFI), Dr. Asher Salmon (MOH, Israel), Dr. Johanna Ralston (World Obesity Federation), Dr. Nick Banatvala (WHO), Dr. Gene Bukhman (Harvard), Dr. Ann Aerts (Novartis Foundation) |
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The First Roadblock to Financing the NCD Response
Launched at WHA, HFI has developed an initial roadmap of financing solutions to mobilize and optimize resources to meet the roadblocks for the NCDs response. It builds on over a decade of financing and policy analysis, as well as the detailed review of 25 NCD investment cases and interviews, including with leaders of the UN Interagency Task Force for NCDs.
As part of our newsletter series, we will be highlighting the ten “stops” and solutions to overcome roadblocks.
Roadblock 1: National priorities are distorted because of parallel processes, competing priorities and donor-driven agendas.
Solution 1: Agendas are driven by countries and national stakeholders. Other institutional actors amplify country voices as allies.
Expanding the fiscal space for health is already challenging enough, especially when compounded with external agendas and misalignment of priorities. Thus, financing for NCD prevention, treatment, and management services within this already constrained environment comes with a new set of obstacles. Country disease burden and population needs feeds into country-driven agendas and national investment frameworks. The call to increased NCD financing can be further advocated by multisectoral stakeholders for greater political buy-in.
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Message from the Founder and Executive Director,
Dr. Andrea Feigl
HFI was formed after the recognition that there is a global need for greater concerted action on NCD and mental health financing. Despite three UN High Level Meetings on the issue, both global and national financing for NCDs have remained stubbornly low - all the whilst the disease burden is relentlessly increasing, the preventable portion of which is driven by a combination of social, commercial, and environmental factors. In addition, the SDG agenda demands new multisectoral partnerships that acknowledge the intersectoral nature of human development and health, including the need to explore non-traditional financing methods and sources. HFI positions itself at the heart of these issues.
Our main mission of HFI is to establish a global financing partnership that explores the latest economic evidence to drive investment in chronic diseases and mental health, particularly focusing on primary prevention and areas where a ‘double bottom’ line exists. We are thrilled to report that after our inaugural high-level Symposium and a roundtable that drew directors and heads of agencies from the UN, government, NGO, academic, and private sector, we have received overwhelming resonance with our mission and support.
The immediate next steps are to work closely with the WHO HL Commission for NCDs on supporting the need and concept for a catalytic fund for NCDs and mental health. We are also working on a list of high impact investments for NCDs to draw a wider circle of investors to the issue. Please stay tuned (and support the cause)!
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Resources and Events
Resources
Upcoming Events
- World Heart Congress 2019, 19-20 August, Vienna, Austria, organized by Conference Series LLC LTD.
- 2nd Global Week for Action on NCDs, 2-8th September 2019, Global, organized by NCD Alliance.
- World Suicide Prevention Day, 10 September 2019, Global, organized by International Association of Suicide Prevention.
- The UN High-Level Meeting (UN HLM) on Universal Health Coverage, 23 September 2019, New York City, US, organized by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
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Dr. Andrea Feigl and Surabhi Bhatt representing HFI at the 72nd World Health Assembly in Geneva. |
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Get Involved
Partner with HFI
We look forward to working together to move beyond the dialogue for NCDs financing to actionable steps. If you are interested in exploring opportunities to engage and partner, please contact our team:
Dr. Andrea Feigl
Founder & Executive Director
andrea@healthfinanceinstitute.org
Surabhi Bhatt, MPH
Co-Founder & Director of Strategy and Operations
surabhi@healthfinanceinstitute.org
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Donate to HFI
Please consider making a donation to support our work.
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Connect with HFI
Connect with us on the platforms below!
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