BACKGROUND :

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development set ambitious health-related targets to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages” and “strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the Global Partnerships for Sustainable Development”. To this end, for example, the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases, as well as effectively addressing the threat of emerging infectious zoonotic diseases will require substantial policy coherence and investments. These are critical for the needed health innovations, as well as the development of systems-wide capacities within countries for the necessary measures of “prevention, detection and response”.  

While many global efforts have focused on increasing research and development for new health innovations, it is also now clear that there must be a corresponding emphasis on strengthening systems and capacities to deliver the range of needed health services and products. The Ebola outbreak in West Africa was an important reminder of the importance of effective, and continuing, core government functions, within and beyond the health sector. As the global community contemplates responses to address epidemics and infectious diseases, the imperatives for ensuring an integrated approach are clear: effective partnerships are required between the public, private and the community sectors. 

This signals a clear need for increased policy coherence, which demands coordination between a broad range of actors; not just between government agencies, private sector and community actors at the national and local levels, but also between those working at the global level, including on innovation, R&D, financing, governance and management. Addressing interconnected elements, and encouraging effective synergies of efforts of stakeholders in the public, private and community sectors, will be critical, not only in effectively addressing infectious and new emerging diseases, but also in helping low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) achieve universal health coverage (UHC) and other health-related targets.