Comparing Health Systems and Policies in Southeast Asia with Special Focus on Inequities

CMU-SPP is proud to present our next Policy Seminar Series!
Speaker: Dr. Phyu Phyu Thin Zaw
Topic: Comparing Health Systems and Policies in Southeast Asia with Special Focus on Inequities
Date: 16 October 2019
Time: 12:15-13:30
Venue: Room 307, Northern Science Park, Chiang Mai University

In South-East Asia, some countries face extreme poverty as well as carry a significant proportion of the global disease burden. Currently, remarkable economic transformations and equally rapid epidemiological transitions are seen across the region. These rapid changes bring enormous policy challenges on how to distribute available healthcare resources effectively and equitably based on specific needs. According to the WHO, health inequities can be defined as systematic differences in the health status of different population groups. The words inequality and inequity differ significantly. Inequity can be defined as the avoidable unfairness of resource distribution due to poor polices, corruption or mismanagement while inequality simply refers to the uneven distribution of health resources. This study will briefly compare health outcomes and health systems focusing on healthcare inequity across the region using qualitative and quantitative data retrieved from global databases (such as World Bank) as well as from the scientific literature to give a better understanding of complex health systems in the region. Myanmar will be presented as a case where health and healthcare disparities are prevalent along with its strategies towards reducing health inequities