Dr. Krishna Reddy, President of ACCESS Health Asia, was recently appointed as a Principal of the Leapfrog to Value Collaborative. The Collaborative is focused on promoting compassionate and high-quality health systems that deliver better outcomes at lower costs. The Leapfrog to Value Collaborative includes affiliate organizations such as Percept and PharmAccess Foundation, along with partners; the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement, USAID, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Merck for Mothers, UBS Optimus Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Mulago Foundation, The Global Development Incubator, Data for Implementation, and World Health Partners (WHP). The Collaborative’s primary objective is to launch a dedicated platform called Usha Lesizalo, which focuses on providing compassionate and high-quality care for mothers and newborns. Additionally, the L2V Collaborative plans to establish a community of practice for value-based care in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Supporting national health insurance schemes in implementing value-based care policies is another key aim of the collaborative. With this partnership and the launch of Usha Lesizalo, ACCESS Health International and the Leapfrog to Value Collaborative are poised to make significant strides in improving healthcare outcomes and ensuring high-quality care for mothers and newborns around the world.
New coalition formed to fight heart disease across Asia
On June 25, 2023, patient organizations, allied health professionals, academia, corporate partners, and a global health think-tank came together to launch the Asia-Pacific Cardiovascular Disease Alliance (APAC CVD Alliance), a multisectoral coalition committed to improving heart health and reducing the CVD burden across nine health systems in Asia - Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. Based in Singapore as its regional hub for Southeast Asia, global health think-tank ACCESS Health International is the secretariat for the APAC CVD Alliance. CVD is the leading cause of death in the Asia-Pacific, with the largest increase in premature deaths occurring in East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia over the last 20 years. In 2019 alone, over 10 million people died of heart disease in Asia, making up 35% of all deaths in the region. With four strategic partners - the Asia-Pacific Federation for Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine (APFCB), Global Alliance for Patient Access (GAfPA), Global Heart Hub (GHH), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Faculty of Medicine in Malaysia - and corporate partners Amgen, Novartis, and Roche Diagnostics, the APAC CVD Alliance aims to: Increase public and policy awareness of the importance of tackling CVD at regional and domestic forums in Asia; Encourage implementation of scalable and sustainable CVD innovations across all health systems, and Emphasize that fighting CVD is a much-needed investment for healthy societies and productive economies. Growing affluence, rapid urbanization, and aging populations in Asia present health systems with an increasing burden of CVD's direct and indirect costs and poor health outcomes. "Accurate and rapid diagnoses for people with CVD are fundamental to all health systems", said Dr Tony Badrick, President, APFCB. "As the largest clinical biochemistry and laboratory federation in Asia, we have seen that investing in capacity building and education of laboratory professionals are essential for early detection and treatment of CVD and other non-communicable diseases. The APAC CVD Alliance's mandate to elevate policy awareness dovetails with the APFCB's goal of encouraging continual improvements to laboratory practices in the region." "To tackle the rise of CVD in the region, we first have to confront the barriers that prevent patients from accessing quality cardiac management in their healthcare systems. Together with our alliance partners, Amgen aims to unify multi-sectorial efforts towards the common goal of recognizing and overcoming these challenges. Success for us means creating sustainable solutions that provide more effective, longer term care for patients in the region", said My Linh Kha, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Amgen Japan and Asia Pacific. The APAC CVD Alliance will adopt a patient-centered approach across the entire CVD care continuum - prevention; early detection; treatment, cardiac rehabilitation, and step-down care. Brian Kennedy, Executive Director, GAfPA said, "We are proud to partner the APAC CVD Alliance to advance patient engagement with clinicians and healthcare providers in the Asia-Pacific. With diverse stakeholders, we can ensure that patients' voices are heard and that policies are developed with the patient at the center." "We are excited to join the APAC CVD Alliance to provide a global voice for those affected by CVD in Asia", added Neil Johnson, Executive Director, GHH. "As a long-time heart patient advocate, I believe we can make a real difference for patients and their families by partnering professionals and policymakers in Asia." "According to the World Heart Federation, 80% of cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and stroke, is preventable. This is a shocking reality and calls for urgent action", said Iris Zemzoum, President, Novartis Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. "At Novartis, we envision a world where CVD is eliminated so patients can live longer and healthier lives. This alliance is a powerful example of forging sustainable partnerships across the healthcare ecosystem and working together to find innovative ways to unblock the barriers that stand in the way of heart health." Building interdisciplinary, multisectoral partnerships are essential to unite CVD action across borders, especially with diverse socio-economic and cultural contexts in Asia. "CVD control cannot be accomplished with clinicians alone", said Associate Professor Dr Fazah Akhtar Hanapiah, Dean, Faculty of Medicine, UiTM. "The faculty has been working tirelessly in co-creating innovative solutions that bring together multidisciplinary healthcare professionals and other partners along the care continuum to prevent, treat, educate, and empower those living with CVD. Our academic, clinical and research background gives us that different edge in tackling the CVD crisis. We are excited to join the APAC CVD Alliance as a strategic partner, to improve patient well-being and care." "A healthier, equitable future requires a renewed focus on chronic disease management and a willingness to look beyond physical symptoms. Chronic conditions such as heart disease come at a high personal cost to the person living with it, their families and communities. The Alliance provides an excellent platform to raise awareness around heart health. More importantly, it creates a collective opportunity to bring multiple voices that are critical to driving better healthcare for patients, lowering cost to society and creating a national push for greater access to cardiovascular disease innovations", said Lance Little, Head of Region, Asia Pacific, Roche Diagnostics Asia Pacific ACCESS Health International (Asia) President Dr Krishna Reddy said, "The Alliance aims to harness the existing good work in tackling CVD in the Asia-Pacific. ACCESS Health is proud to be the secretariat for this regional initiative and we look forward to improving investment in CVD innovations in policies, care models, products, or services across all health systems." We are keen to work with more patients in Asia. We'd love to have a chat. The Alliance is made possible with the support of Amgen, Novartis, and Roche Diagnostics. Read our commitment to transparency.
GLC4HSR hosts webinar on climate change and health focusing on Pacific region and Sri Lanka
The GLC4HSR recently hosted a webinar on climate change and health focusing on marginalized communities in the Pacific region and Sri Lanka. The session was moderated by Iman Hameed, ACCESS Health Consultant and Technical Coordinator for the GLC4HSR, and the panelists were Dr. Jemaima Tiatia, Pro Vice Chancellor, Pacific, University of Auckland and a Samoan academic, researcher, and mental health and wellbeing advocate and Mr. Sandaruwan Lahiru, National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency, Sri Lanka. Climate change will force over 100 million more people into extreme poverty and an estimated 75 million people in the Asia-Pacific region to migrate by 2025. This will exacerbate the effects on mental and physical health in marginalized populations disproportionately. The webinar explored how these two communities are or can be more resilient to climate change impacts on health and what we can learn from them in our own resilience planning. Some key takeaways from the session were: Indigenous ways of knowing and doing are important. We need governments to help re-establish traditional ways of knowing, as the more that’s lost, the harder it is to come back. The people are connected to their land, physically, mentally, and spiritually. They are deeply connected to their environment; thus, mitigation and adaptation planning must be done from their perspectives. Mental health threatened by climate change. Socioeconomic vulnerabilities, as well as physical and social ones, can put stress on mental well-being. There is much need to understand how to design and provide community-appropriate mental health services. Although these communities are vulnerable, they are incredibly resilient. Facing climate change and unpredictability far more frequently, we have much to learn from them. We need more of their knowledge on resilience to be studied and represented on both global and local platforms. Inclusive health systems need to be open to unlearning our ways of seeing and understanding, which is often a biomedical view of the world. The webinar recording is available here: https://youtu.be/2m_tBHnRLM4
Staff Spotlight: Timothy Fang
Timothy Fang is a Senior Consultant in the Southeast Asia office and a program coordinator for the Asia-Pacific Cardiovascular Disease Alliance, a multisectoral, multistakeholder coalition dedicated to improving heart health across health systems in Asia. He brings a unique mix of policy and healthcare administration experience to his role at ACCESS Health International. After beginning his career in the Singapore Foreign Service, focusing on science policy and sustainable development issues, Timothy pivoted to health administration, working with the Agency for Integrated Care to implement a nationwide program for chronic disease management. He worked with private primary care clinicians to resource and implement a team-based approach with nurse counselors, primary care coordinators, and ancillary services for people with diabetes, hypertension, and lipid disorders. Timothy was drawn to ACCESS Health due to their openness in encouraging health innovations and building public-private partnerships. He believes having a good cross-cultural understanding of health systems and the political context in which they function and are resourced is essential. His passion for primary care as a critical component of effective health systems has also served him well as a driving force behind the Asia-Pacific Cardiovascular Disease Alliance. Outside of ACCESS Health, Timothy is an avid reader and casual runner who enjoys the surprising biodiversity of Singapore's urban parks.
ACCESS Health Consultant’s Bereaved Caregivers Project Receives Seed Funding
ACCESS Health Southeast Asia Consultant Miguel Tan took part in the Design4Impact (D4I) challenge, an open platform inviting innovators to co-create sustainable community-owned solutions supported by the Ministry of Health Office for Healthcare Transformation. This year's theme was “Uplifting Vulnerable Families in Singapore.” His team's idea, Project Be-Care, was selected as one of the top three ideas to be piloted in the community. Be-Care aims to uplift bereaved caregivers by providing ready access to counseling and grief support services. It also offers employment schemes such as job counseling and apprenticeships to help those who are unemployed re-enter the workforce, and ultimately re-discover their personal identities.
Dr. Uma Aysola participates in Harvard Business School Executive Leadership Development Program
ACCESS Health India Director of Communications and Relations, Dr. Uma Aysola, participated in The Rockefeller Foundation's 2023 Executive Leadership Development Program at Harvard Business School. Dr. Aysola was recommended as an external participant in the week-long program by The Rockefeller Foundation's Asia Region Office leadership team. The customized program is a part of The Rockefeller Foundation's commitment to developing leadership among grantee partners. The 2023 cohort was made up of 20 Managing Directors and Vice Presidents from The Rockefeller Foundation and ten leaders from grantee partners. The Rockefeller Foundation provided seed funding for The Global Learning Collaborative for Health Systems Resilience. The program aims to develop leadership capabilities through in-person development programs, with the purpose of increasing the overall impact of initiatives funded by The Rockefeller Foundation. The learning themes for this year's program were ethical leadership, strategy, diversity, equity & inclusion, ESG, and Innovation.
Upcoming Webinar on Health Assurance & Insurance for the “Missing Middle”
ACCESS Health, in partnership with Population Services International, under the USAID-funded Samagra project, will host a webinar titled “Breaking Barriers: Uptake and Use of Health Assurance/Insurance Products Among Low-Income Urban Populations.” This webinar aims to shed light on the challenges faced by low-income urban populations in accessing and utilizing health assurance/insurance products and to explore potential solutions to address these barriers. While government-sponsored health insurance schemes exist for the population below the poverty line, a significant segment of the urban working population remains without coverage. Referred to as “the missing middle,” this population falls between those who can afford private healthcare and those who benefit from government schemes. The missing middle includes self-employed individuals in rural areas and a range of occupations in urban areas. Existing health insurance schemes in India often do not cover the missing middle population, and there is a lack of comprehensive and affordable products that cater to their needs. The webinar will discuss the importance of designing a low-cost comprehensive health insurance product that addresses the delays in treatment and covers a wide range of diseases and treatments. It will also explore the inclusion of outpatient benefits to prevent catastrophic health spending. The webinar will feature experts and practitioners from the insurance industry, public health sector, and civil society organizations. Their experiences and insights will contribute to a comprehensive discussion on breaking barriers and promoting better access to health assurance/insurance products for low-income urban populations. The webinar will tentatively take place on June 22/23. Please register here to receive the final details, agenda, and the joining link.
Enhancing the Standards of Cancer Care in Uttar Pradesh
As a part of our ongoing work on Cancer care in Uttar Pradesh, ACCESS Health organized a discussion with stakeholders from the private and public sectors to enhance the standards of cancer care in the state. The objective of the discussion was to bring together experts from various fields-including oncologists, policymakers, practitioners, and industry partners-to identify areas for government program strengthening, especially awareness, screening, drugs and diagnostics, treatment, and financing. The focal point of the event, which brought together over 50 state practitioners and oncologists, was the presentation and release of a landscape study conducted by ACCESS Health, King George’s Medical University (KGMU), SACHIS The event featured two sessions on The Landscape of Cancer and the Provision of Cancer Care in Uttar Pradesh presented by Dr Kirti Srivastava, Professor of Radiation Oncology, KGMU, and Expanding Diagnostics & Cost-Effective Therapies under PM-JAY presented by Dr Anand Mishra, Professor Head, Endocrine and Breast Diseases, KGMU. The event was made possible thanks to the continuous support of partners such as SACHIS, KGMU, and Roche. ACCESS Health also congratulated the state champions, Dr. Anand Mishra, Dr. Kirti Srivastava, Smt Sangeeta Singh, Ms. Priti Sharma, Mr. Amrityan Das, Ms. Himani Sethi, and Ms. Manisha Tripathi, for their efforts in bringing together stakeholders to discuss these critical recommendations for cancer care. We also acknowledge the leadership of Shri Partha Sarthi Sen Sharma, Principal Secretary Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Uttar Pradesh, Smt Sangeeta Singh, CEO, of SACHIS, and Smt Aparna U, Mission Director of the National Health Mission, who prioritized the group’s recommendations. A summary report of the meeting can be read here, and the landscape study can be read here.
Reducing Barriers to Healthcare Through AB PM-JAY
As we celebrated Ayushman Bharat Diwas last month, we reflected on the impact of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) has had in improving access to healthcare for millions of people in India. AB PM-JAY is one of the largest publicly funded health insurance schemes in the world. Since its launch in 2018, the scheme has helped to reduce financial barriers and improve healthcare outcomes for millions of Indians. At ACCESS Health, we are honored to have worked with the government to provide technical support and strengthen the implementation of AB PM-JAY in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Bihar to build state leadership in the implementation, use of efficient, multisectoral and cost-effective interventions for increasing beneficiaries' access to quality healthcare, improved experience and reduced out-of-pocket expenditure. As we continue to stand for the strengthening of the primary healthcare network, we would also like to take a moment to celebrate the Health and Wellness Clinics (HWCs) created under the Ayushman Bharat scheme to provide primary healthcare to rural and less accessible areas in India to manage common diseases, maternal and child healthcare, immunization, and disease screening.
New Report Examines Leveraging Interoperability Between Social Protection Programs and CRVS Systems
In partnership with Giz India, ACCESS Health International Project Head, Ms. Komal Malhotra, has co-authored a paper titled “Efficient Delivery of social protection: Leveraging Interoperability with CRVS Systems” which was presented at the Asia-Pacific Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Research Forum on April 3rd. The forum was organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. The paper provides valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities of integrating social protection programs with CRVS systems, drawing on examples and best practices from countries in the Asia-Pacific region. It highlights the potential benefits of integration, including improved targeting of beneficiaries, reduction of fraud and duplication, increased transparency and accountability, and enhanced data-driven decision-making. You can read the full paper here