Contributions of the New Framework for Essential Public Health Functions to Addressing the Covid-19 Pandemic

Bibliographic Data

ID11025483
AuthorsErnesto Báscolo (0000-0002-4654-5810, Ernesto Báscolo, Natalia Houghton, Amalia Del Riego, James Fitzgerald, and Rachel Jarboe are with the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization, Washington, DC. Note. Authors hold sole responsibility for the views expressed in the article, which may not necessarily reflect the opinion or policy of the Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública/Pan American Journal of Public Health or the Pan American Health Organization.), Norris Houghton (0009-0002-6887-2676, World Health Organization Regional Office for the Americas), Natalia Houghton (Ernesto Báscolo, Natalia Houghton, Amalia Del Riego, James Fitzgerald, and Rachel Jarboe are with the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization, Washington, DC. Note. Authors hold sole responsibility for the views expressed in the article, which may not necessarily reflect the opinion or policy of the Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública/Pan American Journal of Public Health or the Pan American Health Organization.), Amalia Del Riego (Ernesto Báscolo, Natalia Houghton, Amalia Del Riego, James Fitzgerald, and Rachel Jarboe are with the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization, Washington, DC. Note. Authors hold sole responsibility for the views expressed in the article, which may not necessarily reflect the opinion or policy of the Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública/Pan American Journal of Public Health or the Pan American Health Organization.), James Fitzgerald (0000-0003-3400-5515, Ernesto Báscolo, Natalia Houghton, Amalia Del Riego, James Fitzgerald, and Rachel Jarboe are with the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization, Washington, DC. Note. Authors hold sole responsibility for the views expressed in the article, which may not necessarily reflect the opinion or policy of the Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública/Pan American Journal of Public Health or the Pan American Health Organization.), Rachel Jarboe (Ernesto Báscolo, Natalia Houghton, Amalia Del Riego, James Fitzgerald, and Rachel Jarboe are with the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization, Washington, DC. Note. Authors hold sole responsibility for the views expressed in the article, which may not necessarily reflect the opinion or policy of the Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública/Pan American Journal of Public Health or the Pan American Health Organization.)
Year2022
Volume112
IssueS6
PagesS615-S620
Publication date2022-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-0036 • E-ISSN: 1541-0048
PublisherAmerican Public Health Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2105/ajph.2022.306750
PMID35977341
OpenAlexW4292263937
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited11

This article uses a health stewardship perspective to interpret the strengths of and challenges to national health authorities’ capacities to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic through the renewed essential public health functions (EPHF) framework. Based on a literature review, this article argues that the institutional capacities required by countries to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Americas included all 4 stages of the new EPHF policy cycle: assessment, policy development, allocation of resources, and access. While health authorities provided these key functions (e.g., data analysis, intersectoral policy dialogues, allocation of additional funds), the interventions implemented depended on each country’s own institutional structures. Health authorities faced significant challenges including fragmentation and the lack of institutional and personnel capacities, thus compromising the delivery of an effective and equitable response. In addition, the response to the pandemic has been uneven because of weaknesses in central leadership and coordination capacity, the politicization of the response, and differences in the capacity to respond at subnational levels. Such challenges reflect structural weaknesses that existed before the onset of the pandemic, as well as the low prioritization of public health in agendas for health systems strengthening. A future agenda should prioritize improving structural elements while strengthening the stewardship capacities of health authorities and developing institutional structures that guarantee access to and universal coverage of health services. (Am J Public Health. 2022;112(S6):S615–S620. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.306750 )

Business · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) · Economic growth · Economics · Pandemic · Political science · Politics · Public health · Public relations · Stewardship (theology) · Strengths and weaknesses · Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology · Healthcare Systems and Reforms · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology · Public Administration · Public Health Policies and Education · Health Policy