Publication: Health Services Trade and the COVID-19 Pandemic
Loading...
Date
2020-05-04
ISSN
Published
2020-05-04
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic has overwhelmed the capacity of some domestic healthcare systems, highlighting the need to allow scarce healthcare resources to move, including across borders, to where outbreaks emerge and are worse. Digital technologies, data, and cross-border e-health services like telemedicine have become important support mechanisms in the response to the pandemic. Allowing temporary movement of health professionals can also help alleviate capacity constraints on domestic health systems. In the short-term, countries can adopt measures to help alleviate national shortages of medical providers and facilitate the use of telemedicine in response to the COVID 19 pandemic. These include: (i) removing or lowering restrictions on the movement of healthcare professionals across borders, even if temporarily; and (ii) reducing barriers to telemedicine, including allowing the use of insurance in foreign clinics. Medium-term measures should focus on strengthening the global health system and building resilience to future crises. These include: (i) allowing foreign entry of health-related suppliers in order to bring additional resources, new technologies, and new management techniques; (ii) increasing cross-border coordination and collaboration between major research centers for disease prevention and control; and (iii) improving digital connectivity in order to provide better support for healthcare systems.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Gillson, Ian; Muramatsu, Karen. 2020. Health Services Trade and the COVID-19 Pandemic. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33716 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication International Trade in Health Services and the GATS : Current Issues and Debates(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2006)Health ministries around the world face a new challenge: to assess the risks and respond to the opportunities of the increasing openness in health services under the World Trade Organization's (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). This publication addresses this challenge head-on by providing analytical tools to policymakers in health and trade ministries alike who are involved in the liberalization agenda and, specifically, in the GATS negotiations. This book informs and assists policymakers in formulating trade policy and negotiating internationally. There is ongoing and animated international debate about the impact of GATS on public services in general and health in particular. In response, the book offers different perspectives from more than 15 leading experts. Some of the authors stress opportunities linked to trade in health services, others focus more on the risks. The book offers: Detailed legal analysis of the impact of the agreement on health policy; an overview of trade commitments in health-related services; new empirical evidence from nine country studies; and a simple 10-step explanation on how to deal with GATS negotiations.Publication Trade Facilitation Best Practices Implemented in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-04)Maintaining trade flows as much as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic will be crucial in providing access to essential food and health supplies and in limiting the negative impacts on jobs and poverty. The implementation of the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) provides governments with a sound framework for improving trade facilitation and border management. During this crisis implementing measures contained in the TFA can contribute to ensure that trade in critical supplies proceeds smoothly and safely thereby contributing to food security and the health of citizens. This document builds on the World Bank Group's Trade and COVID Guidance Note on Managing Risk and Facilitating Trade in the COVID-19 Pandemic which provides recommendations to governments in maintaining the supply chain that are facilitating the trade of critically needed commodities during the COVID-19 pandemic and protecting workers at ports, terminals and points of entry. Addressing the issues will require an array of actions by governments and border agencies. Some can and should be addressed quickly, such as sanitary procedures and social distancing at border posts and ports. Others will require border agencies to undertake procedural and/or amendments to legislation or regulations. The latter may be difficult to implement in the short term but should still be reviewed to address future pandemics and emergency situations. This guidance note provides examples of good practices implemented by countries in response to COVID-19. Where possible, links have been provided for additional information. The note is not intended to identify all the countries implementing such measures, but only to provide some examples of measures that can support governments in dealing with the crisis and improving trade in critical commodities.Publication Health Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-01-25)This brief has been produced under the World Bank’s Indonesia Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) observatory, a partnership among multiple global practices at the Bank that aims to generate near-real-time insights on the impact of the pandemic to inform the Government of Indonesia’s policy response to the COVID-19 crisis. This brief describes results from the fourth round of monitoring between November to December 2020.Publication Protecting Productive Assets During the COVID-19 Pandemic(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-04-23)In understanding the economics of COVID-19, it is useful to start decomposing the issue in four parts: (i) the public health problem, i.e., the characteristics of the disease and its epidemiology; (ii) the impact of the disease on economic activity; (iii) the connection between the two; and (iv) the economic policy solutions to what has fast become a global pandemic that threatens to destroy the economic and social fabric of modern society. As of now, the infection is spreading aggressively in Europe and the U.S, with vast pockets of highly infected areas in Italy, Spain, and several U.S. states (New York, New Jersey, California, Washington and Texas). Many of these areas are in lockdown, with only essential businesses operating, such as food stores, pharmacies and gas stations. China has, as of today, shut its borders to foreigners after a recent spike in new infections imported from abroad. Epidemiologists suggest that even after the eventual peak and slowdown, a second wave might take place.Publication Trade Policy Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-12)This paper presents new high-frequency data on trade policy changes targeting medical and food products since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, documenting how countries used trade policy instruments in response to the health crisis on a week-by-week basis. The data set reveals a rapid increase in trade policy activism in February and March 2020 in tandem with the rise in COVID-19 cases, but also uncovers extensive heterogeneity across countries in their use of trade policy and the types of measures used. Some countries acted to restrict exports and facilitate imports, others targeted only one of these margins, and many did not use trade policy at all. The observed heterogeneity suggests numerous research questions on the drivers of trade policy responses to COVID-19, the effects of these measures on trade and prices of critical products, and the role of trade agreements in influencing trade activism.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Economic Recovery(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-04-06)World Bank Group President David Malpass spoke about the world facing major challenges, including COVID, climate change, rising poverty and inequality and growing fragility and violence in many countries. He highlighted vaccines, working closely with Gavi, WHO, and UNICEF, the World Bank has conducted over one hundred capacity assessments, many even more before vaccines were available. The World Bank Group worked to achieve a debt service suspension initiative and increased transparency in debt contracts at developing countries. The World Bank Group is finalizing a new climate change action plan, which includes a big step up in financing, building on their record climate financing over the past two years. He noted big challenges to bring all together to achieve GRID: green, resilient, and inclusive development. Janet Yellen, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, mentioned focusing on vulnerable people during the pandemic. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, focused on giving everyone a fair shot during a sustainable recovery. All three commented on the importance of tackling climate change.Publication Remarks at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-10-12)World Bank Group President David Malpass discussed biodiversity and climate change being closely interlinked, with terrestrial and marine ecosystems serving as critically important carbon sinks. At the same time climate change acts as a direct driver of biodiversity and ecosystem services loss. The World Bank has financed biodiversity conservation around the world, including over 116 million hectares of Marine and Coastal Protected Areas, 10 million hectares of Terrestrial Protected Areas, and over 300 protected habitats, biological buffer zones and reserves. The COVID pandemic, biodiversity loss, climate change are all reminders of how connected we are. The recovery from this pandemic is an opportunity to put in place more effective policies, institutions, and resources to address biodiversity loss.Publication Media and Messages for Nutrition and Health(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-06)The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) has experienced rapid and significant economic growth over the past decade. However, poor nutritional outcomes remain a concern. Rates of childhood undernutrition are particularly high in remote, rural, and upland areas. Media have the potential to play an important role in shaping health and nutrition–related behaviors and practices as well as in promoting sociocultural and economic development that might contribute to improved nutritional outcomes. This report presents the results of a media audit (MA) that was conducted to inform the development and production of mass media advocacy and communication strategies and materials with a focus on maternal and child health and nutrition that would reach the most people from the poorest communities in northern Lao PDR. Making more people aware of useful information, essential services and products and influencing them to use these effectively is the ultimate goal of mass media campaigns, and the MA measures the potential effectiveness of media efforts to reach this goal. The effectiveness of communication channels to deliver health and nutrition messages to target beneficiaries to ensure maximum reach and uptake can be viewed in terms of preferences, satisfaction, and trust. Overall, the four most accessed media channels for receiving information among communities in the study areas were village announcements, mobile phones, television, and out-of-home (OOH) media. Of the accessed media channels, the top three most preferred channels were village announcements (40 percent), television (26 percent), and mobile phones (19 percent). In terms of trust, village announcements were the most trusted source of information (64 percent), followed by mobile phones (14 percent) and television (11 percent). Hence of all the media channels, village announcements are the most preferred, have the most satisfied users, and are the most trusted source of information in study communities from four provinces in Lao PDR with some of the highest burden of childhood undernutrition.Publication South Asia Development Update, April 2024: Jobs for Resilience(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-04-02)South Asia is expected to continue to be the fastest-growing emerging market and developing economy (EMDE) region over the next two years. This is largely thanks to robust growth in India, but growth is also expected to pick up in most other South Asian economies. However, growth in the near-term is more reliant on the public sector than elsewhere, whereas private investment, in particular, continues to be weak. Efforts to rein in elevated debt, borrowing costs, and fiscal deficits may eventually weigh on growth and limit governments' ability to respond to increasingly frequent climate shocks. Yet, the provision of public goods is among the most effective strategies for climate adaptation. This is especially the case for households and farms, which tend to rely on shifting their efforts to non-agricultural jobs. These strategies are less effective forms of climate adaptation, in part because opportunities to move out of agriculture are limited by the region’s below-average employment ratios in the non-agricultural sector and for women. Because employment growth is falling short of working-age population growth, the region fails to fully capitalize on its demographic dividend. Vibrant, competitive firms are key to unlocking the demographic dividend, robust private investment, and workers’ ability to move out of agriculture. A range of policies could spur firm growth, including improved business climates and institutions, the removal of financial sector restrictions, and greater openness to trade and capital flows.Publication The Journey Ahead(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-31)The Journey Ahead: Supporting Successful Migration in Europe and Central Asia provides an in-depth analysis of international migration in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and the implications for policy making. By identifying challenges and opportunities associated with migration in the region, it aims to inform a more nuanced, evidencebased debate on the costs and benefits of cross-border mobility. Using data-driven insights and new analysis, the report shows that migration has been an engine of prosperity and has helped address some of ECA’s demographic and socioeconomic disparities. Yet, migration’s full economic potential remains untapped. The report identifies multiple barriers keeping migration from achieving its full potential. Crucially, it argues that policies in both origin and destination countries can help maximize the development impacts of migration and effectively manage the economic, social, and political costs. Drawing from a wide range of literature, country experiences, and novel analysis, The Journey Ahead presents actionable policy options to enhance the benefits of migration for destination and origin countries and migrants themselves. Some measures can be taken unilaterally by countries, whereas others require close bilateral or regional coordination. The recommendations are tailored to different types of migration— forced displacement as well as high-skilled and low-skilled economic migration—and from the perspectives of both sending and receiving countries. This report serves as a comprehensive resource for governments, development partners, and other stakeholders throughout Europe and Central Asia, where the richness and diversity of migration experiences provide valuable insights for policy makers in other regions of the world.