Country is SOMALIA: This assignment asks you questions related to the economic c
Country is SOMALIA: This assignment asks you questions related to the economic context of your country with a special emphasis on health funding and health systems. Finances play a crucial role in public health and health systems: the amount of money invested into health care is likely a crucial determinant of services and the quality of services provided. Equally important is who pays for these services: are these government expenses, out-of-pocket costs or are international agencies funding large parts of the healthcare sector? In other words, who pays gives you an idea of how autonomous a country is or how big the burden on individuals is in case they fall ill.
Please label all figures included in your responses, including a brief descriptive title. Please include references/citations for each response below; these do not count towards your word limit.
Please respond to the guiding questions for each section below:
Section 1: What is the country’s general economic condition? Does it carry significant debt burden (e.g., % of GDP) and how does this impact the availability of services? (100-200 words, 1-2 figures) (4 points)
Tip: You can find information about national debt through the International Monetary Fund at site.. To analyze the impact on the availability of services you can go back to last week’s assignment.
Section 2: How reliant is the country on development assistance for health, meaning what percentage of total health funding comes from development assistance for health (DAH)? (50-100 words, 1 figure) (2 points)
Tip: The IHME Financing Global Health Tool provides helpful information on health funding and developmental assistance. https://vizhub.healthdata.org/fgh/Links to an external site.. Check out the `Spending sources` tab.
Section 3: How does the country’s debt burden impact the health systems sector? Does the government spend at least 15% of its GDP on health? Does the country benefit from external budget support or Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiatives? (50 -100 words) (3 points)
Tip: World Bank provides information on HIPC countries at https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/debt/brief/hipcpart Section 4: Based on what you learned during the lectures and over the course of prior assignments, what types of changes with regards to health care and health systems would be most beneficial in your chosen country? (200-300 words) (6 points)
Tip: To answer this question, you will need to draw from the knowledge you gained during modules 3 to 6.
Rubric
Economic Context and Health Funding
CriteriaRatingsPts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeSection 1- Describes country’s general economic condition and debt burden, including impact on health systems and services
– Provides 1-2 figures/tables with adequate labels
– Stays within word limits and cites references
4 ptsFull Marks
0 ptsNo Marks
4 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeSection 2- Describes country’s reliance on development assistance for health, including data (% of total health funding from DAH)
– Provides 1 figure (adequately labeled) and stays within word limits
– Adequately cites references
2 ptsFull Marks
0 ptsNo Marks
2 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeSection 3- Discusses how the country’s debt burden impacts the health systems sector.
– Describes the % of GDP spent on health.
Describes the role of external budget support or Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiatives in the country
– Provides 1 figure with adequate labels.
– Stays within word limits and cites references.
3 ptsFull Marks
0 ptsNo Marks
3 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeSection 4- Discussion of specific interventions/types of interventions that would benefit the country
– Provides rationale for suggested intervention(s) and discusses their strengths and limitations
– Provides 1 figure and stays within word limits
– Adequately cites references
below is the reading you will also refer to