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Health partnerships: an effective response to the global health agenda

Edited by Sophie Pinder
Globalization and Health

What role can ‘Health partnerships’ play in addressing the disparities that exist in the availability of trained health personnel globally? Often operating under the radar, a vast network of partnerships exist between healthcare delivery or training institutions in high-income countries, and their low- or middle-income counterparts. These peer-to-peer collaborations draw on a multitude of training approaches to build the capacity and expertise of the health workforce within a particular institution and can also broaden into more integrated support for health systems such as national and institutional health strategies, standards and protocols. This series looks at the concept of international twinning relationships and seeks to engage critically with their experiences; assessing the choices, influences, and relationships that determine their success, or otherwise, in strengthening human resources for health, and ultimately improving health services globally.

The Tropical Health & Education Trust (THET), has been working with health partnerships for 25 years and has been at the forefront of efforts to facilitate the growth of this approach. THET has funded the publication charges for this collection of eligible institutional health partnerships. Articles have undergone the journal’s standard peer-review process overseen by the Guest Editor, who declares no competing interests.

  1. Indonesia’s stagnated progress towards tobacco control could be addressed through the implementation of a comprehensive national framework, such as the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Framework Convention of...

    Authors: Abdillah Ahsan, Rifai Afin, Nadira Amalia, Martha Hindriyani, Ardhini Risfa Jacinda and Elisabeth Kramer
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2022 18:11
  2. Shortage of skilled workforce is a global concern but represents a critical bottleneck to Africa’s development. While global academic partnerships have the potential to help tackle this development bottleneck,...

    Authors: Abebaw Fekadu, Esubalew Assefa, Abraham Tesfaye, Charlotte Hanlon, Belete Adefris, Tsegahun Manyazewal, Melanie J. Newport and Gail Davey
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2021 17:131
  3. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death globally. While upstream approaches to tackle NCD risk factors of poor quality diets and physical inactivity have been trialled in high income co...

    Authors: Tolu Oni, Felix Assah, Agnes Erzse, Louise Foley, Ishtar Govia, Karen J. Hofman, Estelle Victoria Lambert, Lisa K. Micklesfield, Maylene Shung-King, Joanne Smith, Eleanor Turner-Moss, Nigel Unwin, Pamela Wadende, James Woodcock, Jean Claude Mbanya, Shane A. Norris…
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2020 16:100
  4. The Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH) has been a model academic partnership in global health for nearly three decades, leveraging the power of a public-sector academic medical center and t...

    Authors: Tim Mercer, Adrian Gardner, Benjamin Andama, Cleophas Chesoli, Astrid Christoffersen-Deb, Jonathan Dick, Robert Einterz, Nick Gray, Sylvester Kimaiyo, Jemima Kamano, Beryl Maritim, Kirk Morehead, Sonak Pastakia, Laura Ruhl, Julia Songok and Jeremiah Laktabai
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2018 14:44
  5. Access to adequate surgical care is limited globally, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). To address this issue, surgeons are becoming increasingly involved in international surgical teac...

    Authors: Parisa Nicole Fallah and Mark Bernstein
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2017 13:70
  6. Malawi is a low-income country with one of the highest HIV prevalence rates worldwide (Kendig et al., Trop Med Health 41:163–170, 2013). The health system depends largely on external funding. Official German d...

    Authors: Florian Neuhann and Sandra Barteit
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2017 13:50
  7. The Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCOphth) and the College of Ophthalmology of Eastern Central and Southern Africa (COECSA) are collaborating to cascade a Training the Trainers (TTT) Programme across the ...

    Authors: Melanie C Corbett, Wanjiku Mathenge, Marcia Zondervan and Nick Astbury
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2017 13:46
  8. Globally, safe and effective medication administration relies on nurses being able to apply strong drug calculation skills in their real-life practice, in the face of stressors and distractions. These may be e...

    Authors: Eleanor Rose Bull, Corina Mason, Fonseca Domingos Junior, Luana Vendramel Santos, Abigail Scott, Debo Ademokun, Zeferina Simião, Wingi Manzungu Oliver, Fernando Francisco Joaquim and Sarah M. Cavanagh
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2017 13:45
  9. Health partnerships often use health professional training to change practice with the aim of improving quality of care. Interventions to change practice can learn from behavioural science and focus not only o...

    Authors: Lucie M.T. Byrne-Davis, Eleanor R. Bull, Amy Burton, Nimarta Dharni, Fiona Gillison, Wendy Maltinsky, Corina Mason, Nisha Sharma, Christopher J. Armitage, Marie Johnston, Ged J. Byrne and Jo K. Hart
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2017 13:30
  10. A health partnership to improve hospital based neonatal care in Rwanda to reduce neonatal mortality was requested by the Rwandan Ministry of Health. Although many health system improvements have been made, the...

    Authors: Placide Ntigurirwa, Kathy Mellor, Daniel Langer, Mari Evans, Emily Robertson, Lisine Tuyisenge, Alan Groves and Tom Lissauer
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2017 13:28
  11. International health partnerships (IHPs) are changing, with an increased emphasis on mutual accountability and joint agenda setting for both the high- and the low- or middle-income country (LMIC) partners. The...

    Authors: Kavian Kulasabanathan, Hamdi Issa, Yasser Bhatti, Matthew Prime, Jacqueline del Castillo, Ara Darzi and Matthew Harris
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2017 13:25
  12. Mental illnesses are the largest contributors to the global burden of non-communicable diseases. However, there is extremely limited access to high quality, culturally-sensitive, and contextually-appropriate m...

    Authors: Bibhav Acharya, Duncan Maru, Ryan Schwarz, David Citrin, Jasmine Tenpa, Soniya Hirachan, Madhur Basnet, Poshan Thapa, Sikhar Swar, Scott Halliday, Brandon Kohrt, Nagendra P. Luitel, Erick Hung, Bikash Gauchan, Rajeev Pokharel and Maria Ekstrand
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2017 13:2
  13. Inequities in health have garnered international attention and are now addressed in Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG3), which seeks to ‘promote well-being for all’. To attain this goal globally requires inn...

    Authors: Franka Cadée, Marianne J. Nieuwenhuijze, A. L. M. Lagro-Janssen and Raymond De Vries
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2016 12:66
  14. Human capital requires opportunities to develop and capacity to overcome challenges, together with an enabling environment that fosters critical and disruptive innovation. Exploring such features is necessary ...

    Authors: J. Jaime Miranda, Antonio Bernabé-Ortiz, Francisco Diez-Canseco, Germán Málaga, María K. Cárdenas, Rodrigo M. Carrillo-Larco, María Lazo-Porras, Miguel Moscoso-Porras, M. Amalia Pesantes, Vilarmina Ponce, Ricardo Araya, David Beran, Peter Busse, Oscar Boggio, William Checkley, Patricia J. García…
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2016 12:29
  15. In response to health care challenges worldwide, extensive funding has been channeled to the world’s most vulnerable health systems. Funding alone is not sufficient to address the complex issues and challenges...

    Authors: Rohit Ramaswamy, Brianne Kallam, Dragica Kopic, Borislava Pujic and Medge D. Owen
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2016 12:22
  16. There is a substantial body of literature on the principles of good partnerships and the rationale for such partnerships in research capacity strengthening. This paper illustrates the long term effects of a mu...

    Authors: Khalifa Elmusharaf, Hanan Tahir, Diarmuid O’ Donovan, Ruairi Brugha, Mamoun Homeida, Amal M. O. Abbas and Elaine Byrne
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2016 12:20
  17. With the recognition of the need for research capacity strengthening for advancing health and development, this research capacity article explores the use of technology enhanced learning in the delivery of a c...

    Authors: E. Byrne, L. Donaldson, L. Manda-Taylor, R. Brugha, A. Matthews, S. MacDonald, V. Mwapasa, M. Petersen and A. Walsh
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2016 12:19
  18. There is growing concern that short-term experiences in global health experiences (STEGH), undertaken by healthcare providers, trainees, and volunteers from high income countries in lower and middle income cou...

    Authors: Lawrence C. Loh, Olga Valdman and Matthew M. Dacso
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2016 12:15
  19. In 2007 the “Crisp Report” on international partnerships increased interest in Northern countries on the way their links with Southern partners operated. Since its establishment in 2007 the Division of Tropica...

    Authors: David Beran, Sigiriya Aebischer Perone, Gabriel Alcoba, Alexandre Bischoff, Claire-Lise Bussien, Gilles Eperon, Olivier Hagon, Olivia Heller, Frédérique Jacquerioz Bausch, Nicolas Perone, Thomas Vogel and François Chappuis
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2016 12:14
  20. In the current United Nations efforts to plan for post 2015-Millennium Development Goals, global partnership to address non-communicable diseases (NCDs) has become a critical goal to effectively respond to the...

    Authors: M. S. Winchester, R. BeLue, T. Oni, U. Wittwer-Backofen, D. Deobagkar, H. Onya, T. A. Samuels, S. A. Matthews, C. Stone and C. Airhihenbuwa
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2016 12:13
  21. Health workers are at high risk of acquiring infectious diseases at work, especially in low and middle-income countries (LMIC) with critical health human resource deficiencies and limited implementation of occ...

    Authors: Annalee Yassi, Muzimkhulu Zungu, Jerry M. Spiegel, Barry Kistnasamy, Karen Lockhart, David Jones, Lyndsay M. O’Hara, Letshego Nophale, Elizabeth A. Bryce and Lincoln Darwin
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2016 12:10
  22. Partnerships between developed and developing country institutions are increasingly becoming important in addressing contemporary global health challenges faced by health systems. Inter-university health colla...

    Authors: David Musoke, Linda Gibson, Trasias Mukama, Yesmean Khalil and John C. Ssempebwa
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2016 12:11
  23. Capacity building partnerships between healthcare institutions have the potential to benefit both partners particularly in staff development. Previous research suggests that volunteering can contribute to prof...

    Authors: Esther Tillson, Sibylle Herzig van Wees, Charlotte McGowan, Hannah Franklin, Helena Jones, Patrick Bogue, Shirin Aliabadi and Paula Baraitser
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2016 12:9
  24. Anaesthesia and Intensive Care is a neglected specialty in low-income countries. There is an acute shortage of health workers – several low-income countries have less than 1 anaesthesia provider per 100,000 po...

    Authors: Mpoki Ulisubisya, Henrik Jörnvall, Lars Irestedt and Tim Baker
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2016 12:7
  25. Because of the shortage of health professionals, particularly in specialty areas, Rwanda initiated the Human Resources for Health (HRH) Program. In this program, faculty from United States teaching institution...

    Authors: Esperance Ndenga, Glorieuse Uwizeye, Dana R. Thomson, Eric Uwitonze, Joel Mubiligi, Bethany L. Hedt-Gauthier, Michael Wilkes and Agnes Binagwaho
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2016 12:4
  26. Despite the worthy intentions of international health partnerships between high-income countries and countries with developing economies, the tangible benefits are rarely evaluated, limiting the assessment of ...

    Authors: Ben Hague, Jenny Sills and Andrew R. Thompson
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2015 11:52
  27. Contemporary interest in in short-term experiences in global health (STEGH) has led to important questions of ethics, responsibility, and potential harms to receiving communities. In addressing these issues, t...

    Authors: Lawrence C. Loh, William Cherniak, Bradley A. Dreifuss, Matthew M. Dacso, Henry C. Lin and Jessica Evert
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2015 11:50
  28. International health partnerships are one approach to capacity building in health systems. The evidence base for institutional partnerships for health service development remains weak and evaluation of the pro...

    Authors: Suzanne Edwards, Dan Ritman, Emily Burn, Natascha Dekkers and Paula Baraitser
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2015 11:49
  29. Institutional Health Partnerships are long-term, institution to institution partnerships between high income and low and middle income countries which seek to build capacity and strengthen health institutions ...

    Authors: Ema Kelly, Vicki Doyle, David Weakliam and Yvonne Schönemann
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2015 11:48

    The Erratum to this article has been published in Globalization and Health 2016 12:3

  30. There is a global need to expand palliative care services to reach the increasing number requiring end of life care. In developing countries where the incidences of cancer are rising there is an urgent need to...

    Authors: B. A. Jack, J. A. Kirton, J. Downing and K. Frame
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2015 11:47