A roundtable discussion on international cooperation in health reform in the Americas

In April 2000 representatives from several international donor organizations conducted an electronic roundtable discussion on international cooperation in the Americas. The participants included Jose Zeballos Zelada coordinator of the Pan American Health Organization and Management of Health Systems and Services; Bill Savedoff senior economist at the Inter-American Development Banks Sustainable Development Department; and World Bank economists Girindre Beeharry and Rafael Flores. Moderating the discussion was Karen Cavanaugh health systems advisor with the US Agency for International Developments Division of Health Policy and Sector Reform. Topics discussed were the future agenda in international cooperation in health sector reform; globalization and decentralization; decision-making and regulation; donor collaboration and the role of the private sector; second-generation reforms; innovations in service to the poor; and respect for human rights and health system performance. Overall the representatives recognized that countries need to be the sole navigators in reforming their health systems and that the international agencies can be most helpful by providing good solid analysis and empirical evidence to inform decision-making

Political science · Regional science · Sociology · Global Maternal and Child Health · Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology · Healthcare Systems and Reforms · Public Administration