The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how vulnerabilities in health systems can have profound implications for health, economic progress, trust in governments, and social cohesion. Containing and mitigating the spread and infection rate of the virus continue to be essential. But so is strengthening the capacity of health systems to respond swiftly and effectively. This includes administering COVID-19 vaccines. After lightening speed development and testing, vaccine campaigns are rolling out in many countries. But questions about production, delivery and equitable access remain, not least for low and middle-income countries.

This page features the latest OECD work on the impact of COVID-19 on health and health systems, along with OECD recommendations and policy advice on how to boost health systems’ resilience.

• Watch the replay of our webinar on Financing resilient health systems: is there a trade-off between efficiency and resilience?
  
  

Ready for the Next Crisis? Investing in Health System Resilience

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Released 23 February 2023 The COVID-19 pandemic had massive consequences for societies and health systems across the OECD and beyond. Health systems were not resilient enough. Resilient health systems plan and are ready for shocks, such as pandemics, economic crises or the effects of climate change. They are able to minimise the negative consequences of crises, recover as quickly as possible, and adapt to become better performing and more prepared. Smart, targeted investments in health system resilience are needed to improve health and ensure the next shock is less disruptive and costly. This report reviews the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic and applies them to build policy recommendations to ensure the global community is ready for the next crisis. The reviews and recommendations cover health system issues – including workforce, digitalisation, continuity of care and mental health – and other topics, including long-term care, supply chains and international co-operation. Read the report Ready for the Next Crisis? Investing in Health System Resilience

High Level Meeting on Safe International Travel

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7-8 July 2022, Ibiza, Spain The High-Level Meeting on Safe International Travel brought together ministers, deputy ministers, and high level authorities mainly responsible for the sectors of health, tourism, and foreign affairs, to discuss measures and build consensus to accelerate return to safe international mobility, while protecting the safety of travel. For further information, please contact safeinternationaltravel2022@oecd.org.

POLICY BRIEFS 

• The future of telemedicine after COVID-19 (January 2023) / L’avenir de la télémédecine après le COVID-19 (janvier 2023)
• Investing in health systems to protect society and boost the economy: Priority investments and order-of-magnitude cost estimates (October 2022) / Investir dans les systèmes de santé pour protéger la société et stimuler l’économie : Priorités et estimations de l’ordre de grandeur des coûts (octobre 2022)
• Rising from the COVID 19 crisis: Policy responses in the long-term care sector (December 2021) / Also available in Japanese
• Teleworking in the COVID-19 pandemic: Trends and prospects (September 2021) / Le télétravail pendant la pandémie de COVID-19 : tendances et perspectives (septembre 2021)
• The effect of COVID-19 on alcohol consumption, and policy responses to prevent harmful alcohol consumption (May 2021) / Effets du COVID-19 sur la consommation d’alcool et mesures prises pour prévenir la consommation nocive d’alcool (mai 2021)
• Tackling the mental health impact of the COVID-19 crisis: An integrated, whole-of-society response (May 2021) / Apporter une réponse englobant toutes les composantes de la société face aux conséquences de la crise du COVID 19 sur la santé mentale (mai 2021)
• Supporting young people’s mental health through the COVID-19 crisis (May 2021) / Préserver la santé mentale des jeunes pendant la crise du COVID-19 (mai 2021)
• Enhancing public trust in COVID-19 vaccination: The role of governments (May 2021)
• Adaptive Health Financing: Budgetary and Health System Responses to Combat COVID-19 (April 2021)
• Access to COVID-19 vaccines: Global approaches in a global crisis (March 2021) / L’accès aux vaccins anti-COVID-19 dans un monde en crise: état des lieux et stratégies (mars 2021)
• Using trade to fight COVID-19: Manufacturing and distributing vaccines (February 2021)
• How primary health care helps health systems adapt during the COVID-19 pandemic (February 2021) / Comment les soins primaires aident les systèmes de santé à s’adapter à la pandémie de COVID-19 (février 2021)
• Development Co-operation Report 2020: Learning from Crises, Building Resiliences (December 2020) / Coopération pour le développement 2020 : Apprendre des crises, renforcer la résilience (décembre 2020)
• Testing for COVID-19: How to best use the various tests? (December 2020) / Dépistage du COVID-19: Comment utiliser au mieux les différents tests? (décembre 2020)
• Greater harmonisation of clinical trial regulations would help the fight against COVID-19 (August 2020) / Pour soutenir la lutte contre le COVID-19, une meilleure harmonisation des réglementations relatives aux essais cliniques s’impose (août 2020)
• Paid sick leave to protect income, health and jobs through the COVID-19 crisis (July 2020) / Le congé de maladie payé pour protéger les revenus, la santé et les emplois pendant la crise du COVID-19 (juillet 2020)
• Strengthening health systems during a pandemic: The role of development finance (June 2020)
• Workforce and Safety in Long-Term Care during the COVID-19 pandemic (June 2020) / Also available in Japanese
• Treatments and a vaccine for COVID-19: The need for coordinating policies on R&D, manufacturing and access (May 2020) / Also available in Japanese
• Contribution of migrant doctors and nurses to tackling COVID-19 crisis in OECD countries (May 2020) / Contribution des médecins et des infirmiers migrants à la lutte contre la crise du COVID-19 dans les pays de l’OCDE (mai 2020)
• Testing for COVID-19: A way to lift confinement restrictions (May 2020) / Also available in Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish
• Beyond containment: Health systems responses to COVID-19 in the OECD (April 2020) / Also available in German
• Women at the core of the fight against COVID-19 crisis (April 2020) / Also available in Japanese
• COVID-19: Protecting people and societies (March 2020)
• Flattening the COVID-19 peak: Containment and mitigation policies (March 2020)

All OECD COVID-19 Policy Briefs are available at https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/en/policy-responses.

• Also read the dedicated chapters in the regional editions of Health at a Glance: Europe (December 2022), see Chapter 1 on Coping with COVID-19: Young people’s health in an age of disruption and Chapter 2 on Dealing with backlogs: Disruptions in non-COVID care during the pandemic; Asia/Pacific (November 2022), see Chapter 2. The health impact of COVID-19; and Latin America and the Caribbean (June 2020), see the Editorial.
  
  

BLOGS AND OTHER ARTICLES

• Going Beyond Applause: The Potential of Caregiving to Unlock Job Opportunities of the Future, The OECD Forum Network, June 2023
• Socio-economic and ethnic health inequalities in COVID-19 outcomes across OECD countries, OECD Health Working Paper No. 153, March 2023
• Advancing patient safety governance in the COVID-19 response, OECD Health Working Paper No. 150, February 2023
• Curing vulnerabilities, article by Francesca Colombo, in The Global Governance Project, October 2022
• Investing in health systems to protect society and boost the economy - Priority investments and order-of-magnitude cost estimates, OECD Health Working Paper No. 144, July 2022
• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer care in OECD countries, OECD Health Working Paper No. 141, May 2022
• Health data and governance developments in relation to COVID-19, OECD Health Working Paper No. 138, April 2022
• Pathway to UHC: Three priorities for stronger, more resilient, more inclusive health systems, World Bank Blogs, December 2021
• Addressing the hidden pandemic: The impact of the COVID-19 crisis on mental health, May 2021
• Protecting elderly people from COVID-19: the role of primary health care. Friends of Europe, December 2020
• Resilience of Health Systems to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Europe: Learning from the first wave, November 2020
• From Vaccines to a Global Cure: Why international co-operation is so important for stopping COVID-19, October 2020
• Taking stock of OECD Health Systems in the face of Covid-19 - Three questions to Francesca Colombo. Institut Montaigne interview, June 2020. Also available in French
• Resilient Health Systems: What we are learning from the COVID-19 crisis, April 2020
   

KEY DATA

Note: All-cause mortality data cover up to week 27-2021 for Canada, week 35-2021 for Colombia, and week 47-2021 for Italy and Australia. 
Information on data for Israel.

FURTHER READING

• Health care financing in times of high inflation, Policy Brief (January 2023)
• The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Future of Telemedicine (January 2023)
• Evaluation of Luxembourg's COVID-19 Response - Learning from the Crisis to Increase Resilience (October 20222)
• Learn more about our work on health
• Read about our work on Health Systems Resilience
• Health Statistics
• Health Policies
• Health Publications
• Health Working Papers
  
• Visit the OECD hub on Building a resilient recovery
  
  

CONTACT US

• health.contact@oecd.org

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