Jobs and Announcements

Health system global is calling for short films, documentaries, animated films, photo-essays, and other multimedia, that address any of the six symposium themes of the 4th Global Symposium for Health Systems Research in Vancouver this year (14-18 November). Submissions welcomed from health researchers, film-makers, activists and artists engaging with the content outlined in themes. Submissions will be peer reviewed and selected on the basis of the relevance of the content to the symposium and the ability to convey the message of the thematic areas. Please note that the technical quality of the media (cinematography, animation, professional editing) will not be the primary criteria for selection. Full details on submissions found at the website indicated.

The 7th Global Symposium will share and learning from the experiences of the last two years. Strong health systems build on foundation of primary health care and empowered communities. The challenge ahead is to explore the role values such as trust, solidarity, equity, and social justice play moving forward. HSR2022 will explore this in the following sub-themes: The politics and policies of health systems; Intersectoral collaboration and integrative governance on the road for health in all policies; The changing dynamics of health provision models to promote equity and the central role of human resources for health; The role of comprehensive primary care in promoting sustainability and The contribution of new technologies. The deadline for abstract submission for organised sessions is 15th February, 2021, and for individual papers is 15th April, 2021.

In April 1992 a group of visionaries – most now leading figures in the country – saw the need for an organisation to support the transformation of South Africa’s health system in the new democracy ushered in by the non race-based elections in 1994. The resultant organisation, Health Systems Trust, has grown from strength to strength over the intervening two decades, with work to strengthen health systems in South Africa and in southern Africa. Extensive health systems research (see the HST website), many innovative implementation programmes (including the early Initiative for Sub-district Support; District Strengthening and Community Development; SA SURE), relevant reporting and analysis (South African Health Review, District Health Barometer) and global collaborations advocating for equity (Global Equity Gauge - GEGA, early editions of Global Health Watch) have been implemented towards a vision of “Health systems supporting Health for All in southern Africa”. In May a 20-year celebration is planned. Developments in the South African health system over the past two decades will be explored in a one-day seminar. Then, acknowledging the involvement of the South African communities in sustaining the organisation, HST staff, some partners and dignitaries, will don overalls and participate in a social responsibility exercise in two clinics. HST steps into the next 20 years with confidence and excitement.

Health Systems Trust (HST) is hosting a conference from 4-6 May 2016 at the Birchwood Conference Centre, Boksburg, Gauteng. Under the banner of Health for all through strengthened health systems: sharing, supporting, synergising, the event is designed to advance the global public health agenda in improving health outcomes. The conference will provide a forum in which those who contribute in various ways to the South African health system can exchange ideas, develop support mechanisms for common challenges, and foster synergies between interested groups. The vision of the organisers is of a vibrantly non-conventional conference experience. The three-day conference will convene approximately 300 healthcare workers from the public and private sectors as well as policy- and decision-makers, civil society groupings and academics. The past decade has seen an unprecedented wave of change and reform in order to strengthen the effectiveness of health systems, primarily through the introduction of primary health care re-engineering, National Health Insurance, and quality improvement and assurance. In addition, a range of programmatic activities designed to move towards increasing life expectancy, decreasing maternal and child mortality and combating HIV and AIDS and decreasing the burden of disease from TB have been implemented on a wide scale. New initiatives such as the 90-90-90 targets and attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals bring a further dimension to health systems strengthening. Collaborations among healthcare workers and stakeholders have researched, devised and applied a range of strategies and models to translate these reforms into reality. The HST conference will provide an opportunity to discuss challenges faced and solutions adopted at various levels in the health system. To avoid losing the opportunity to share these lessons and curate related good practice as broadly as possible, the organisers encourage interested parties to be a part of this conference. Applications for pre-conference workshops, individual and poster abstracts, and for media submissions close Sunday 10 January 2016.