Health Policy and Financing (HP&F)

“From the course Health Policy and Financing I learned how to organize and manage a program in Nepal called Microfinance and Microhealth insurance or so called community based health insurance . The main objective of this program is of increasing financial accessibility. This is obtained by increasing income through skill based training. But also by creating awareness regarding common female and reproductive health problems and diseases and taking health as an asset and value and care for it. The program has been undertaken in five different Outreach Centres of Dhulikhel Hosptial located in different rural areas of Nepal: Salambu, Bahunepati, Dapcha, Baluwa, and Kattike Deurali.  Until now the programme has a total of 28 groups of which six groups have completed their loan cycle. The total no. of beneficiaries are 300. Besides accessing credit, the women are given different kinds of skill-based trainings and awareness sessions on different health issues through this programme. Similarly, the Microhealth Insurance Program has targeted improvement of health of mother and children. My training at KIT has provided me the knowledge to further strengthen these programs and serve the needy people at their doorstep.”

“Money makes the world go ‘round”. Money alone does not ensure a functioning health system; policy is an equally important pillar of public health. This module gave me a deeper understanding of the complexities of health policy and financing. Of course the students studied and debated the issues that low- and middle-income countries face, but there was also room to look at opportunities, good-practices and out-of-the-box approaches to health policy and financing.

Awareness of health policy and financing is also relevant for those working ‘in the field’, as a midwife I found that after taking this module I could better understand and/or criticize policy or financing decisions being made by those in higher levels.”

“I was really surprised to learn that health is not operating on its own. There is a strong relationship between health and other ‘challenges’ in the world like education, sanitation, live style, environment, water, economics etc. There are different approaches and there is not such as a ‘one fits all solution’. Therefore it is so important that for example NGO’s, Agencies and Government are work together.”

”‘Health policy and financing module deeply taught me how I critically could analyse the currd on available evidences through writing a policy brief. Furthermore, the module was very helpful to understand different methods of financing of the health systems.”

“In our time, organizations and technology are evolving so rapidly that health care professionals must continually seek new skills and perspectives that enable them not only to respond to change, but also to anticipate it. And this is exactly what we were trained in KIT. Besides these academic competencies that are making a lot of difference in what I do now, staying and studying in Amsterdam also had positive effects in many ways; the principles of “equal opportunity for all people, irrespective of gender, age, race or religion” were visible in all aspects of the Dutch life.”

“I work as a deputy manager in the Federal Ministry of Health within the department for emergency and humanitarian action. We cover natural disasters and conflict-affected areas, which, sadly, are numerous. By designing and implementing capacity building programmes, and working together with health partners and international donors, we try to improve our public health sector at regional levels. I came to KIT because I wanted to add more knowledge to my experience. I hope that my master’s degree from KIT will help me to influence decision-makers in Sudan.”

“The MPH study program was comprehensive and mixed of theories, practices, skills, tools to apply the knowledge, and real examples from developing countries. Program topics were all interesting and relevant to practical work in the field. With what I learned I can contribute to strengthening the policy and strategies relevant to health in Afghanistan.”