Inequities, Protests and Covid-19
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
March 16-18 and 23-25, 2021
Online Program
Application Deadline: March 1, 2021
Download an application (Microsoft Word Document will take a moment to load)
Purpose
With Covid-19 and protests raising major concerns with inequities in variety of dimensions, this course is designed to help policy makers and managers think about how to address inequities in an effective way. It raises key issues such as: How should we think about the ethics of inequities in health and in pandemics? What are the dimensions of inequities (income, sex and gender, race, and access to quality services) we need to be concerned about? How are inequities contributing to social protests? What are the inequities that are exposed by Covid-19 and the response to the pandemic? What policies and programs can be developed to effectively address inequities and what political strategies can be adopted to support and implement these policies?
This course is designed to present some of the current thinking on these aspects of inequities with a focus on health and social protection. It reviews both the general analytical and research available on these issues as well as practical experiences and cases of projects and programs designed to address inequities in the context of protests and pandemics.
Who Should Join
This on-line workshop has been designed for experienced managers and policy-makers in the fields of health and social protection. Policy-makers and managers from both government and non-government organizations are encouraged to attend. The course will take place in the mornings three days a week over the two weeks to allow independent time for busy participants to do their jobs and to do “on your own time” readings and exercises.
Course participants will learn:
- conceptual frameworks about inequities and social determinants of health,
- methods of measuring inequities—including Gini Coefficient,
- how the Covid-19 pandemic both reflects inequities and contributes to them,
- theories about causes and effects of protests and populist movements,
- how to assess, formulate and apply strategies to reduce inequalities and improve public health.
We have invited Harvard presenters who are experts in their fields and whose work will be relevant to the way inequity impacts on your work. You should leave the workshop with a greater understanding of inequities in relation to health and social protection, and the relationship of inequities to social protests and Covid-19.
Course Topics
Content: This six-day course (three days per week) will cover a number of topics related to pandemics, inequities and protests. While both theory and practice will be included, the emphasis will be on practical skill building.
Topics to be addressed:
- Ethics of Inequities in Health
- Measuring Inequities
- Social Determinants of Inequalities in Health
- Inequities and Gender
- Inequities of Social Protection
- Inequality and Protests
- Inequities in Health Care Quality
- Policies and Program Interventions
- Politics of Promoting Equity
- All sessions will include issues related to Covid-19
Online Educational Approach
This interactive, online course offers a blend of theory and practice, geared to an audience focused upon policy design and implementation. Included throughout the course are live synchronous sessions, polling, online Q&A, breakout groups, case studies, problem sets, and preparation of group and individual case presentations. Virtual classroom points will most often be made through interactive learning methods, rather than through lectures. Facilitated online discussion among experienced participants is expected throughout. Participants are encouraged to have on hand their own country material and resources on health systems related to inequities, social protest and the Covid-19 pandemic.
About the Course Director
Dr. Thomas J. Bossert is the director of International Health Systems Program and Senior Lecturer on Global Health Policy in the Department of Global Health and Population at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. He teaches executive training courses at Harvard and with the World Bank and WHO on policies and management in decentralized health systems, human resources strategic planning, health system strengthening and political economy. He has directed technical assistance projects and applied research in Latin America, Asia, and Africa on decentralization, institutional transformation, and health policy reform. He has published studies on decentralization and human resources in Social Science and Medicine, Health Policy and Planning, the Bulletin of WHO among other publications.
