Nikhil Aiyush Kumar 
The World Bank is conducting specialized training in Nadi to help Pacific health and finance leaders improve healthcare investments.
The two-day course, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, focuses on cost-effective planning and tackling emerging health challenges.
World Bank Health Practice Manager for East Asia and the Pacific, Dr. Ronald Mutasa, says the program enhances leaders’ understanding of complex policy-making and health systems.
The structured course aims to strengthen decision-making and knowledge-sharing in the region’s health sector.
“In the last three years or so under our new international development policy, we need to make sure our health assistance is rooted in local priorities, its determined and guided by our local partner countries want and tailored appropriately”
Dr Mutasa says the Pacific Health Systems Flagship Program is a World Bank initiative to help policymakers plan health system reforms.
He explains that the program provides a framework to manage multiple changes in the health sector.
As Pacific nations recover from COVID-19, the program will support rebuilding healthcare systems and addressing challenges like climate change and non-communicable diseases.
