This is, in part, because of context and systems factors including a country’s previous experience with epidemics, its health system strength and structure, and the onset of SARS-CoV-2 in-country. These and other factors helped shape each country’s COVID-19 response, as well as its ability to continue delivering EHS in the first two years of the pandemic. However, these context and system factors cannot be easily changed during the onset of an infectious disease outbreak, and as a result this cross-country synthesis primarily focuses on the interventions countries implemented in response to COVID-19. A full list of cross-cutting interventions (called “promising practices”) that all or most countries implemented can be found in the table below. Click on the blue cells of the table to see examples of the promising practices in each country.
Cross-Country Promising Practices
This section describes four essential measures for health system adaptation that most of the countries implemented in some form. Despite substantial disruptions to health systems during the COVID-19 pandemic, these measures aimed to ensure ongoing access to COVID-19 care and EHS at the local level. Examples of these measures include:
- Changes to preexisting health facilities and the construction of new ones
- The development and widespread adoption of systems for remote care delivery
- Innovative ways to mobilize, deploy, and support health workers
Health systems and individual health facilities can adapt these measures to improve care delivery during future health emergencies.