Examining growing attention toward health systems strengthening

In an article published in the journal Health Policy and Planning, Tamara Hafner and Jeremy Shiffman of the Department of Public Administration and Policy at American University examine the factors behind why "many organizations involved in global health have come to direct attention and resources to the issue of health systems strengthening," especially since 2005, according to the abstract. They "construct a case history and analyze the factors shaping and inhibiting global political attention for health systems strengthening," the abstract states. The authors conclude, "[T]he global actors we have analyzed in this study influence national agendas, control considerable financing and are sources of policy ideas. As such, their behavior is worth monitoring, as their future decisions concerning organizational priorities will shape the agenda's future" (January 2013).