Virtual Health Systems Assessment and Diagnosis Courses

Health systems are increasingly challenged by complex performance issues related to access, affordability, quality of care, efficiency, equity, and public satisfaction. Health policymakers and other professionals—strategists, managers, and practitioners—are pivotal for designing health system reforms to address these challenges and for translating high-level policy into impacts that directly benefit people. Yet, these professionals often lack targeted training and support to effectively lead health system assessments, design transformative initiatives, predict and navigate political barriers, or foster innovation. Understanding how health systems function, identifying where and why they underperform, and designing contextually appropriate reforms require a unique and specialized skill set that is not widely available. This capacity is essential not only for responding to current challenges but also for future-proofing systems against emerging challenges—whether it is aging populations, rising healthcare costs, or new diseases.

This virtual course—India Health Systems Strengthening—seeks to fill this critical gap. It aims to equip mid-career professionals—who play a pivotal—yet often under-supported with the skills to comprehensively understand health systems, assess performance using robust frameworks, diagnose systemic weaknesses, and design transformative reforms that are tailored to local realities.

The Course is organized by the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI)—an Indian not-for-profit academic and research institute, developed by Harvard, and taught by instructors from Harvard and other institutions. The Course is supported by a Gates Foundation grant (known as the India Health Systems Reform Project), led by Prof. Winnie Yip at the Department of Global Health and Population. Since 2021, this team has been offering versions of the course (funded by the Gates Foundation)—for health system researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in India. Each iteration of these courses has been exceptionally well received by the participants, donors, governments, and non-government collaborators.

Besides fulfilling the Gates Foundation grant’s objectives and obligations, this proposed course aligns with the School’s mission to advance public health globally through learning, discovery, and communication. It creates opportunities for engagement with partners in governments, multilateral agencies, and philanthropy to build health systems leadership capacity at scale.

The overarching aim of this course is to equip mid-level health professionals with the analytical capacity and networks to strengthen and transform health systems in their contexts. Specific objectives include:

• Enable participants to critically assess the performance of a health system and to diagnose the underlying causes of these performances. This approach emphasizes ‘why’ it is important to focus on health systems design.
• To deepen understanding of key policy levers they can use for health system reforms based on their systematic assessment and diagnosis.
• To provide actionable skills for designing reforms.
• To build sustainable capacities on health systems analytical thinking and support context-sensitive approaches to health systems leadership.

• Professionals in national health programs and public health agencies in India
• Program managers and technical officers in philanthropic, bilateral, and multilateral donor agencies
• Professionals in think tanks, consulting firms, and other organizations engaged in providing technical assistance to governments and private sector institutions
• Staff of NGOs, philanthropic organizations, and implementing partners

Participants would have at least 6 years of relevant experience and hold a mid-level or emerging leadership role. Participants will be selected based on an application accompanied by their CVs and statements of purpose.

The course is conceptualized and proposed by Prof. Winnie Yip and Dr. Anuska Kalita from the Department of Global Health and Population. While Yip and Kalita will provide overall leadership, they will leverage the expertise of faculty and researchers from Harvard and affiliate institutions to teach different modules and sessions. Potential instructors will include stalwarts and thought leaders in health systems, such as Profs. Bill Hsiao, Michael Reich, and Kevin Croke. In addition, guest instructors (primarily drawing on the School’s alums) will share policy design and implementation experiences of relevant health reforms from different country contexts. These guest instructors include Prof. Annie Haakenstad (Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, Seattle), Prof. Terence Cheng (Monash University, Australia), Prof. Rockli Kim (University of South Korea), Prof. Indranil Mukopadhyay (Jindal Global University, India), Abdo Yazbeck (World Bank), and Prof. Abril Campos (Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico).

The costs of the Course, including honoraria to instructors and organizing costs incurred by PHFI, are funded through the Gates Foundation grant—India Health Systems Reform Project. The Course is offered free of charge to the selected participants.