Afrigather In a landmark occasion, the World Well being Group (WHO) organized a ‘historic’ workshop on Well being Know-how Evaluation (HTA) for chosen member states within the African area.
Held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from December twelfth to 14th, 2023, with the theme ‘Well being Know-how Evaluation for Precedence Setting to Obtain Common Well being Protection,’ the workshop aimed toward tackling crucial points associated to the systematic analysis of healthcare expertise and its function in decision-making processes.
The workshop additionally envisaged serving to the institution and institutionalization of HTA within the well being techniques of the chosen nations, sharing experiences and approaches for capability constructing, disseminating related steerage paperwork to advertise using HTA, and in the end serving to nations to develop their roadmaps for progressing in the direction of implementation of HTA ideas and rules.
The workshop emphasised that Well being Know-how, together with medicines, medical units, vaccines, and well being interventions, performs an important function in well being promotion, illness prevention, analysis, therapy, rehabilitation, and palliative care.
The important function of HTA in evaluating the properties, results, and impacts of healthcare expertise to tell coverage choices was additionally deliberated. The workshop additionally mentioned the very important function of HTA in reaching UHC by making certain the environment friendly and equitable allocation of healthcare assets.
“The principle objective of HTA is to tell coverage decision-making in well being care, and thus enhance the uptake of cost-effective new applied sciences and stop the uptake of applied sciences which might be of uncertain worth for the well being system,” Dr. Nonhlanhla Dlamini, Appearing Consultant of WHO Ethiopia acknowledged whereas opening the workshop.
The World Well being Meeting Decision WHA67.23 on HTA in Help of Common Well being Protection (UHC) urges member states to contemplate establishing nationwide well being expertise evaluation techniques, encouraging the systematic utilization of unbiased well being intervention and expertise evaluation in help of UHC to tell coverage choices.
A multidisciplinary method is concerned in HTA to generate proof for prioritizing, choosing, introducing, distributing, and managing well being expertise.
Challenges recognized in the course of the workshop embody restricted use of proof in policymaking, low consciousness, inadequate native establishments with HTA capability, restricted technical experience, and an absence of native knowledge and acceptable instruments.
HTA has been adopted as a way of precedence setting throughout high-income nations (e.g., UK, Australia, and Canada) and upper-middle-income nations (e.g., Thailand, Brazil, and Mexico), whereas different rising economies akin to India and China are establishing their nationwide establishments
Nonetheless, “low and middle-income nations, particularly African nations, with restricted healthcare budgets, are struggling to prioritize healthcare wants and allocate their investments successfully,” Dr. Dlamini stated including “As per the requests from nations WHO is supporting and offering steerage and help for constructions and techniques to ascertain HTA processes and coverage frameworks”.
“WHO Ethiopia can be supporting the Ministry of Well being of Ethiopia and it’s businesses in creating the HTA Institutionalizing Highway map, defining important well being service package deal, updating nationwide lists of important medicines and medicines for medical insurance, and strengthening medical product regulatory system,” the Consultant stated and reiterated that the nation workplace will proceed supporting Ethiopia in implementing HTA in precedence setting for public well being.
“Knowledgeable decision-making contains points surrounding protection and reimbursement, pricing choices, scientific pointers and protocols, and medical system regulation,” highlighted the workshop members.
As a follow-up to the workshop, three countries- Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, and Malawi will obtain help to implement their HTA roadmaps, with area visits organized to help in creating and adapting supplies on HTA for coaching functions.
The workshop not solely raised consciousness but in addition fostered information, guiding nations to progress towards implementing HTA ideas and rules. This signifies an important step in empowering the nations to reinforce their capability for well being expertise evaluation, contributing to evidence-based decision-making and improved healthcare outcomes.
A complete of 40 high-level well being professionals and officers drawn from Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, and Ethiopia, attended the workshop which was facilitated by consultants from the three tiers of WHO, Africa CDC and Kenya Medical Analysis Institute (KEMRI).
