Health systems resilience during COVID-19: Lessons for building back better
The COVID-19 pandemic represents a health system shock of unprecedented scale. Health systems resilience – defined as the ability to absorb, adapt, and transform to cope with shocks – is needed to ensure sustained performance of the health system functions (governance, financing, resource generation, and service delivery) so that the ultimate health system goals, especially that of improving health of the population, can be achieved. As we have witnessed, few countries could achieve this goal and even fewer could do so in a sustained way – leaving all countries with important lessons to learn. The lessons derived in this study can inform both the ongoing efforts, while countries are still grappling with the pandemic, as well as help ensure these efforts also incorporate a longer-term perspective, thus improving preparedness to any future health system shocks.
