The Institute for Global Health and Development
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Item Navigating power in policy adoption: the political economy of noncommunicable diseases in Sierra Leone(Elsevier, 2025-10-06) Loffreda, Giulia; Senesi, Reynold; Diaconu, Karin; Idriss, Ayesha; Witter, SophieNon-communicable diseases (NCDs) represent a rising health burden globally, yet low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), particularly fragile states, face persistent barriers to NCD prevention and control policy adoption and implementation. This qualitative case study examines the factors influencing NCD policy adoption in Sierra Leone, a country that, in recent years, has focused on tackling these conditions. Drawing on 20 key informant interviews and 39 policy documents and media analysis, the study highlights the interplay of global health norms, commercial determinants, and local capacities. Findings reveal how international frameworks like WHO’s ‘best buys’ provide essential guidance but often fail to accommodate local socio-political realities. The analysis underscores how multisectoral coalitions, power dynamics, and commercial interests shape outcomes of policy adoption, while chronic underfunding and donor-driven priorities further complicate governance. Recommendations emphasize the importance of context-sensitive strategies that integrate local knowledge systems, strengthen leadership, and embed implementation research. Ultimately, fostering adaptive, accountable, and well-resourced health systems, supported by global solidarity and coordinated governance reforms, is essential to achieving sustainable NCD responses, particularly in an era marked by fractured multilateralism and weakened collective action, where strengthening local capacities and political commitment becomes even more critical.Item Refugee integration in national health systems of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs): evidence synthesis and future research agenda(Elsevier, 2025-09-12) Olabi, Amina; Palmer, Natasha; Bertone, Maria Paola; Loffreda, Giulia; Bou-Orm, Ibrahim; Sempé, Lucas; Vera Espinoza, Marcia; Dakessian, Arek; Kadetz, Paul; Ager, Alastair; Witter, SophieThis paper reviews evidence on healthcare responses for refugees, documenting the different approaches and their effectiveness and impact in particular in relation to supporting integrating refugees into national health systems. The review adopted a purposeful, iterative approach, utilizing electronic databases, grey literature, and reference lists from relevant studies. A total of 167 studies, primarily from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), focusing on refugees and forcibly displaced persons with empirical data, were included. The review highlights a substantial literature on refugee health and healthcare access, with well-covered areas including delivery models, access barriers, gaps in coverage, and specific health services such as psychosocial care, non-communicable diseases, mental health, and maternal and child health. However, less attention is given to integration models, health system responses, and their impact on system resilience and social cohesion. Few studies examine the costs, feasibility, or sustainability of integration models, and little research focuses on health system perspectives or comparative analyses. Moreover, the host health system's status, capacity, and needs are often underexplored. Some countries are particularly well-represented in studies, e.g. Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Uganda. There is however a paucity of data that would provide the basis for more quantitative or analytical evaluation from a systems perspective. This gap highlights the need for further research on effective integration models, their operational aspects, and their long-term impact on local health systems' resilience and sustainability. To support this research agenda, we propose a conceptual framework to provide analytic guidance for future research on healthcare responses for refugees and health system integration.Item Health justice in fragile and shock-prone settings: from theory to practice towards building resilient health systems(BMJ, 2025-09-10) Loffreda, Giulia; Regmi, Shophika; Khalil, Joanna; La, Thazin; Idriss, Ayesha; Raven, Joanna; Witter, Sophie; Mansour, WesamHealth justice is an emerging imperative in global health and health policy and systems research, particularly in fragile and shock-prone settings where inequities are deepened by political instability, conflict and structural violence. This practice paper explores how the ReBUILD for Resilience consortium has sought to operationalise health justice as a guiding principle and embedded practice in four diverse contexts: Myanmar, Nepal, Lebanon and Sierra Leone. Drawing from political philosophy, public health ethics and the capability approach, we outline a framework that positions health justice not only as an aspiration but also as an actionable, community-rooted agenda that centres equity, power redistribution and inclusive governance. Through participatory action research, political economy analysis and embedded learning sites, the ReBUILD teams engaged with communities and health system actors to co-create interventions that respond to local needs while addressing entrenched exclusion and marginalisation. Country experiences demonstrate both the potential and challenges of advancing health justice: from establishing inclusive Municipal Health Committees and revitalising health facility governance to promoting leadership among marginalised groups such as people with disabilities and displaced populations. This paper reflects on tensions around facilitation, participation and positionality and acknowledges the broader political economy, subnational, national and transnational, that shapes opportunities for transformation. We argue that health justice must be pursued through politically astute, reflexive and participatory research approaches, grounded in long-term relationships and a commitment to amplifying community voices. While the road is complex and contested, the pursuit of health justice is essential for building more equitable, inclusive and resilient health systems in the face of protracted crises and global inequities.Item Decision-making surrounding distress, depression and suicidal ideation: findings of a vignette study with primary health care practitioners in Lebanon [Working paper](Queen Margaret University, 2025-07) Noubani, Aya; Loffreda, Giulia; Diaconu, Karin; Muhheiddine, Dina; Horn, Rebecca; Saleh, ShadiThis working paper presents early findings from a vignette-based study exploring how primary health care (PHC) providers in Lebanon assess and respond to cases of mental ill-health, including distress, depression, and suicidal ideation. Sixty-one healthcare providers from PHC centers in Beirut and the Bekaa participated in the study using an interactive, web-based vignette tool that simulated patient cases. Each participant reviewed three vignettes varying by patient gender, nationality, and mental health severity. Providers assessed symptom severity, selected treatment options, and chose appropriate referrals. Although detailed findings are withheld to preserve the novelty of forthcoming peer-reviewed work, general trends suggest that provider decision-making varies based on professional role, patient profile, and regional context. The study underscores the potential of PHCCs to support early mental health intervention and the feasibility of vignette-based tools for research in fragile settings.Item Understanding the political economy of reforming global health initiatives – insights from global and country levels(Springer, 2025-07-09) Witter, Sophie; Palmer, Natasha; Jouhaud, Rosemary; Zaidi, Shehla; Carillon, Severine; English, Rene; Loffreda, Giulia; Venables, Emilie; Habib, Shifa Salman; Tan, Jeff; Hane, Fatouma; Bertone, Maria Paola; Hosseinalipour, Seyed-Moeen; Ridde, Valery; Shoaib, Asad; Faye, Adama; Dudley, Lilian; Daniels, Karen; Blanchet, KarlIntroduction Since 2000, the number and role of global health initiatives (GHIs) has been growing, with these platforms playing an increasingly important role in pooling and disbursing funds dedicated to specific global health priorities. While recognising their important contribution, there has also been a growth in concerns about distortions and inefficiencies linked to the GHIs and attempts to improve their alignment with country health systems. There is a growing momentum to adjust GHIs to the current broader range of global health threats, such as non-communicable diseases, humanitarian crises and climate change, and against the backdrop of the recent aid cuts. However, reform attempts are challenged by the political economy of the current structures. Methods In this article, we draw on research conducted as part of the Future of Global Health Initiatives process. The study adopted a cross-sectional, mixed-methods approach, drawing from a range of data sources and data collection methods, including a global and regional level analysis as well as three embedded country case studies in Pakistan, South Africa and Senegal. All data was collected from February to July 2023. 271 documents were analysed in the course of the study, along with data from 335 key informants and meeting participants in 66 countries and across a range of constituencies. For this paper, data were analysed using a political economy framework which focused on actors, context (especially governance and financing) and framing. Findings In relation to actors, the GHIs themselves have become increasingly complex (both internally and in their interrelations with other global health actors and one another). They have a large range of clients (including at national level and amongst multilateral agencies) which function as collaborators as well as competitors. Historically there have been few incentives for any of the actors to maximise collaboration given the competitive funding landscape. Power to exert pressure for reforms sits ultimately with bilateral and private funders, though single-issue northern non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are also cited as important influencers. Funders have not collaborated to enable reforms, despite concerns amongst a number of them, because of the helpful functional role of GHIs, which serves funder interests. Some key global boards are reported to be engineered for stasis, and there are widespread concerns about lack of transparency and over-claiming (by some GHIs) of their results. Framing of narratives about achievements and challenges is important to enable or block reforms and are vigorously contested, with stakeholders often selecting different outcomes to emphasise in justifying positions. Conclusion GHIs have played an important role in the global health ecosystem but despite formal accountability structures to include recipient governments, substantive accountability has been focused upwards to funders, with risk management strategies which prioritise tracking resources more than improved national health system performance. Achieving consensus on reforms will be challenging but current funding pressures and new threats are creating a sense of urgency, which may shift positions. Political economy analysis can model and influence these debates.Item Barriers and Opportunities for WHO ‘Best Buys’ Non-Communicable Disease Policy Adoption and Implementation From a Political Economy Perspective: A Complexity Systematic Review(Maad Rayan Publishing Company, 2023-12-31) Loffreda, Giulia; Arakelyan, Stella; Bou-Orm, Ibrahim; Holmer, Hampus; Allen, Luke N.; Witter, Sophie; Ager, Alastair; Diaconu, KarinBackground: Improving the adoption and implementation of policies to curb noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) is a major challenge for better global health. The adoption and implementation of such policies remain deficient in various contexts, with limited insights into the facilitating and inhibiting factors. These policies have traditionally been treated as technical solutions, neglecting the critical influence of political economy dynamics. Moreover, the complex nature of these interventions is often not adequately incorporated into evidence for policymakers. This study aims to systematically review and evaluate the factors affecting NCD policy adoption and implementation. Methods: We conducted a complex systematic review of articles discussing the adoption and implementation of WHO's ‘best buys' NCD policies. We identified political economy factors and constructed a causal loop diagram (CLD) program theory to elucidate the interplay between factors influencing NCD policy adoption and implementation. A total of 157 papers met the inclusion criteria. Results: Our CLD highlights a central feedback loop encompassing three vital variables: 1) the ability to define, (re)shape and pass appropriate policy into law; 2) the ability to implement the policy (linked to the enforceability of the policy and to addressing NCD local burden); 3) ability to monitor progress, evaluate and correct the course. Insufficient context-specific data impedes the formulation and enactment of suitable policies, particularly in areas facing multiple disease burdens. Multisectoral collaboration plays a pivotal role in both policy adoption and implementation. Effective monitoring and accountability systems significantly impact policy implementation. The commercial determinants of health (CDoH) serve as a major barrier to defining, adopting, and implementing tobacco, alcohol, and diet-related policies. Conclusion: To advance global efforts, we recommend focusing on the development of robust accountability, monitoring, and evaluation systems, ensuring transparency in private sector engagement, supporting context-specific data collection, and effectively managing the CDoH. A system thinking approach can enhance the implementation of complex public health interventions.Item Political Economy of Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) prevention and control in Lebanon: identifying challenges and opportunities for policy change and care provision reforms(BioMed Central, 2023-12-18) Bou-Orm, Ibrahim; Loffreda, Giulia; Diaconu, Karin; Witter, Sophie; deVos, PolIntroduction: Lebanon is a middle-income country facing substantial fragility features. Its health profile shows a high burden of NCD morbidity and mortality. This paper intends to analyse the political economy of NCD prevention and control in Lebanon. Methods: This study adopted a literature-based case study research design using a problem-driven political economy analysis framework. A total of 94 peer-reviewed articles and documents from the grey literature published before June 2019 were retrieved and analysed. Results: Lebanon’s political instability and fragile governance negatively affect its capacity to adapt a Health-in-All-Policies approach to NCD prevention and enable the blocking of NCD prevention policies by opposed stakeholders. Recent economic crises limit the fiscal capacity to address health financing issues and resulting health inequities. NCD care provision is twisted by powerful stakeholders towards a hospital-centred model with a powerful private sector. Stakeholders like the MOPH, UN agencies, and NGOs have been pushing towards changing the existing care model towards a primary care model. An incremental reform has been adopted to strengthen a network of primary care centres, support them with health technologies and improve the quality of primary care services. Nevertheless, outpatient services that are covered by other public funds remain specialist-led without much institutional regulation. Conclusion: Our study revealed a locked equilibrium in NCD prevention policymaking in Lebanon, but with an incremental progress in service delivery reforms towards a primary care model. Advocacy and close monitoring by policy entrepreneurs (such as civil society) could initiate and sustain the implementation of policy change and care model reforms.Item Fragile, handle with care: Refining a key concept for global health and development(BMJ Publishing Group, 2023-06-28) Diaconu, Karin; Witter, Sophie; Dakessian, Arek; Loffreda, Giulia; Ager, AlastairSummary box In the development sphere, the term ‘fragile’ has generally been used as a pejorative label to represent ‘fragile and conflict-affected states’ with chronic governance challenges. Beginning with the formulation of the OECD’s multidimensional framing of fragility, a broader use of the term is emerging, which is of potential utility in the field of global health. Evidence from a series of studies addressing non-communicable disease and mental health provision—both of which require continuity of care and long-term investments into health service delivery and capacity—informs a ‘fragility for health’ framework consistent with this evolving understanding of fragility. This framework identifies two domains that warrant more intense, politically sensitive study: political economy and financing for health services delivery and community engagement in shaping systems for health. Consideration of these domains will critically inform health interventions in contexts of fragility.Item Informing adaptation strategy through mapping the dynamics linking climate change, health, and other human systems: Case studies from Georgia, Lebanon, Mozambique and Costa Rica(Public Library of Science, 2023-04-19) Loffreda, Giulia; Chikovani, Ivdity; Mocumbi, Ana O.; Asmar, Michele Kosremelli; Blanco, Laura C.; Grant, Liz; Ager, AlastairWhile scientific research supporting mitigation of further global temperature rise remains a major priority, CoP26 and CoP27 saw increased recognition of the importance of research that informs adaptation to irreversible changes in climate and the increasing threats of extreme weather events. Such work is inevitably and appropriately contextual, but efforts to generalise principles that inform local strategies for adaptation and resilience are likely crucial. Systems approaches are particularly promising in this regard. This study adopted a system dynamics framing to consider linkages between climate change and population health across four low- and middle-income country settings with a view to identifying priority inter-sectoral adaptation measures in each. On the basis of a focused literature review in each setting, we developed preliminary causal loop diagrams (CLD) addressing dynamics operating in Mozambique, Lebanon, Costa Rica, and Georgia. Participatory workshops in each setting convened technical experts from different disciplines to review and refine this causal loop analysis, and identify key drivers and leverage points for adaptation strategy. While analyses reflected the unique dynamics of each setting, common leverage points were identified across sites. These comprised: i) early warning/preparedness regarding extreme events (thus mitigating risk exposure); ii) adapted agricultural practices (to sustain food security and community livelihoods in changing environmental conditions); iii) urban planning (to strengthen the quality of housing and infrastructure and thus reduce population exposure to risks); iv) health systems resilience (to maintain access to quality healthcare for treatment of disease associated with increased risk exposure and other conditions for which access may be disrupted by extreme events); and v) social security (supporting the livelihoods of vulnerable communities and enabling their access to public services, including healthcare). System dynamics modelling methods can provide a valuable mechanism for convening actors across multiple sectors to consider the development of adaptation strategies.Item Non-communicable disease policy implementation in Libya: A mixed methods assessment(Public Library of Science, 2022-11-10) Allen, Luke N.; Wild, Cervantée E. K.; Loffreda, Giulia; Kak, Mohini; Aghilla, Mohamed; Emahbes, Taher; Bonyani, Atousa; Hatefi, Arian; Herbst, Christopher; El Saeh, Haider M.The Libyan Ministry of Health is keen to understand how it can introduce policies to protect its population from non-communicable diseases (NCDs). We aimed to perform an implementation research assessment of the current situation, including challenges and opportunities. We used an explanatory sequential mixed methods design. We started with a quantitative assessment of NCD policy performance based on review of the WHO NCD Progress Monitor Reports. Once we had identified Libya’s NCD policy gaps we performed a systematic review to identify international lessons around barriers and successful strategies for the policies Libya has not yet implemented. Finally, we performed a series of key stakeholder interviews with senior policymakers to explore their perspectives around promising policy actions. We used a realist paradigm, methods triangulation, and a joint display to synthesise the interpretation of our findings and develop recommendations. Libya has not fully implemented any of the recommended policies for diet, physical activity, primary care guidelines & therapeutics, or data collection, targets & surveillance. It does not have robust tobacco policies in place. Evidence from the international literature and policymaker interviews emphasised the centrality of according strong political leadership, governance structures, multisectoral engagement, and adequate financing to policy development activities. Libya’s complex political and security situation are major barriers for policy implementation. Whilst some policies will be very challenging to develop and deploy, there are a number of simple policy actions that could be implemented with minimum effort; from inviting WHO to conduct a second STEPS survey, to signing the international code on breast-milk substitutes. Like many other fragile and conflict-affected states, Libya has not accorded NCDs the policy attention they demand. Whilst strong high-level leadership is the ultimate key to providing adequate protections, there are a range of simple measures that can be implemented with relative ease.