Post by Tenu Avafia

It was a real pleasure and a new experience to join the host of the #insidetrack podcast Dr Garry Aslanyan, as well as his two co-hosts Ricardo Baptista Leite, M.D. from HealthAI - The Global Agency for Responsible AI in Health and Catherine Kyobutungi recently. Our free flowing conversation touched on a key key themes around recent shifts in the global health landscape. The shifts underway in global health are not temporary. They are structural. The sharp decline in health funding confirms what many suspected: the era in which global health could rely heavily on official development assistance is ending. Yet, most health spending globally has always occurred at the national level, often supplemented by out-of-pocket payments. This moment is undeniably challenging. But it is also an opportunity. Our hour long discussion centered on three themes: The first of these is #regionalization. As resources tighten, we also have an opportunity to move beyond donor-driven silos and build more integrated health systems. However, that means investing far more seriously in regional institutions and capabilities in Africa, Latin America and Asia. It also means co-investing in financing platforms, procurement mechanisms, regulatory cooperation, manufacturing networks, and public health institutions. Stronger regional ecosystems can strengthen sovereignty while preserving collective action. The second theme was on unlocking and navigating additional innovative financing approaches. Philanthropy is evolving. Catalytic blended finance can unlock significantly larger pools of capital, while results-based financing focuses investment on outcomes rather than inputs. The future of global health financing will be more catalytic, more diversified, and more focused on impact and it was good to share the #innovativefinancing journey we've been on Unitaid The final theme for this episode was the role of #technology. Artificial intelligence is reshaping innovation and access value chain, accelerating drug discovery and development. Well-designed systems can improve access to information, strengthen supply chains, and support the delivery of care but we must safeguard against the risks around bias, and widening #healthinequality. The next generation of global health architecture must be built with these realities in mind. Thanks to each of you for an engaging conversation on #insidetrack The audio version of our conversation can be found here 👉 https://lnkd.in/dd4BTQuh