Latvia sees high rates of obesity, smoking and alcohol consumption. In turn, this results in a high incidence of preventable diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes and many cancers. This puts a burden on a health system which is already operating on a very tight budget as compared to other OECD countries.

Latvia sees high rates of obesity, smoking and alcohol consumption. In turn, this results in a high incidence of preventable diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes and many cancers. This puts a burden on a health system which is already operating on a very tight budget as compared to other OECD countries. This OECD report shows that Latvia has many of the policies it needs to address these problems in place. However, Latvia needs to go further to ensure the health system can effectively prevent diseases, not just cure them. This will require redesigning policies to reach a larger population and efforts to educate the population to understand how to protect their health. Better screening programmes are needed, as is a stronger primary care sector, and access to essential medicines for all Latvians.

This review assesses Korea's public health system, highlights areas of strength and weakness, and makes a number of recommendations for improvement. The review examines Korea's public health system architecture, and how well policies are responding to population health challenges, including the growing burden of chronic disease, and resulting pressures on the health system.

This review assesses Japan's public health system, highlights areas of strength and weakness, and makes a number of recommendations for improvement. The review examines Japan's public health system architecture, and how well policies are responding to population health challenges, including ...

This review assesses Chile's public health system, highlights areas of strength and weakness, and makes a number of recommendations for improvement. The review examines Chile's public health system architecture, and how well policies are responding to significant population health challenges ...

Latvia sees high rates of obesity, smoking and alcohol consumption. In turn, this results in a high incidence of preventable diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes and many cancers. This puts a burden on a health system which is already operating on a very tight budget as compared to other OECD countries. This OECD report shows that Latvia has many of the policies it needs to address these problems in place. However, Latvia needs to go further to ensure the health system can effectively prevent diseases, not just cure them. This will require redesigning policies to reach a larger population and efforts to educate the population to understand how to protect their health. Better screening programmes are needed, as is a stronger primary care sector, and access to essential medicines for all Latvians.

Experience with public health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic clearly demonstrates that weak public health capacities leave populations and health, economic, and social systems vulnerable. Health system challenges are increasing in number and complexity, while health system resourcing, often seen as a cost rather than an investment, remains inadequate. The limited resources available are skewed towards clinical services and emergency response, leaving persistent weaknesses in preventive, promotive and protective capacities. World Health Assembly resolution WHA69.1 of 2016 provided the World Health Organization (WHO) with a mandate to support Member States to strengthen the essential public health functions (EPHFs) while recognizing their critical role in achieving universal health coverage. This has been reaffirmed in the Declaration of Astana on Primary Health Care, 2018, and by global partners since, creating an impetus towards and need for guidance in strengthening public health stewardship and capacities informed by the EPHFs. This technical package provides a range of technical resources and flexible tools in relation to EPHFs, to support comprehensive operationalization of public health in countries. The unified list of essential public health functions (EPHFs) consists of 12 activities that can be used to operationalize public health in a country. This comprehensive approach to public health orients health systems to population need and health system risks, and governments and societies towards health and well-being. This maximizes health gains within available resources and builds resilience, while reducing population vulnerability and the overall burden on the health system. The EPHFs can be used to plan public health systems, strengthen stewardship and coordination for public health delivery at national and subnational levels, and integrate public health capacities within health and allied sectors. The EPHFs anchor protective, promotive and preventive capacities within health systems while leveraging multisectoral efforts for health. In this way, strengthening health systems with the EPHFs is central to the primary health care approach and supports the achievement of universal health coverage, health security and healthier populations in tandem.