What matters in health (care) universes: delusions, dilutions, and ways towards universal health justice.

The presumed global consensus on achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) masks crucial issues regarding the principles and politics of what constitutes "universality" and what matters, past and present, in the struggle for health (care) justice. This article focuses on three dimensions of the problematic: 1) we unpack the rhetoric of UHC in terms of each of its three components: universal, health, and coverage; 2) paying special attention to Latin America, we revisit the neoliberal coup d'état against past and contemporary struggles for health justice, and we consider how the current neoliberal phase of capitalism has sought to arrest these struggles, co-opt their language, and narrow their vision; and 3) we re-imagine the contemporary challenges/dilemmas concerning health justice, transcending the false technocratic consensus around UHC and re-infusing the profoundly political nature of this struggle. In sum, as with the universe writ large, a range of matters matter: socio-political contexts at national and international levels, agenda-setting power, the battle over language, real policy effects, conceptual narratives, and people's struggles for justice.

Synergy for health equity: integrating health promotion and social determinants of health approaches in and beyond the Americas.

Health promotion and social determinants of health approaches, when integrated, can better contribute to understanding and addressing health inequities. Yet, they have typically been pursued as two solitudes. This paper presents the key elements, principles, actions, and potential synergies of these complementary frameworks for addressing health equity. The value-added of integrating these two approaches is illustrated by three examples drawn from the authors' experiences in the Americas: at the community level, through a community-based coalition for reducing chronic disease disparities among minorities in an urban center in the United States; at the national level, through healthy-settings interventions in Canada; and at the Regional level, through health cooperation based on social justice values in Latin America. Challenges to integrating health promotion and social determinants of health approaches in the Americas are also discussed.

Universal health coverage and public-private arrangements within Sri Lanka's mixed health system: Perspectives from women seeking healthcare.

Universal health coverage (UHC), a target of the United Nations' third Sustainable Development Goal on health, refers to people having access to essential healthcare services without suffering financial hardship. The World Bank and other leading global health actors champion mixed health systems-in which government and privately-financed market delivery coexist-as a sustainable model for UHC. Yet, little is known about what these public-private arrangements mean for women, a crucial partaker of UHC in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Using a critical feminist approach, this study explores how women negotiate access to public and private healthcare services within Sri Lanka's state-dominant mixed health system. Data were generated through focus group discussions and interviews with women residents of an urban division in Kandy, a city seeing rapid private healthcare expansion in central Sri Lanka. Notwithstanding policies of universality guiding public sector delivery, out-of-pocket payments burden socially and economically disadvantaged women. They use private services to fill gaps in the public system, and consult dual practitioners privately, to pave way for better (public) care. By contrast, wealthier women opt for private outpatient care, but capitalize on the dual practitioners to obtain priority access to oversubscribed services at public hospitals. Most women, regardless of social location, combine public with private, albeit to varying degrees, to save on household expenses. Relying on women's invisible care work, these public-private "hybrid" routes of access within Sri Lanka's poorly regulated mixed health system, reinforce social inequalities and individualize the responsibility for healthcare. The article throws light on the messiness of access within mixed systems and demands closer scrutiny of calls for private sector engagement in the quest for UHC in LMICs.

Participation of young women in sexual and reproductive health decision-making in Malawi: Local realities versus global rhetoric.

Despite the global prioritization of addressing adolescent girls' and young women's sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and participatory rights, little research has examined their lived experiences in shaping their engagement in SRH decision-making processes in the global South. Further, few studies have explored how structural and societal factors influence their agency and participation. This critical and focused ethnography, informed by postcolonial feminist and difference-centred citizenship theories, conducted in Malawi (2017-2018) elicited perspectives of youth and key informants to help address these knowledge gaps. Our findings show that the effective implementation and uptake of global discourse on participation and gender equity is hindered by inadequate consideration of girls' and young women's local political, cultural and social realities. Many girls and young women demonstrate passion to participate in SRH policymaking as agents of change. However, patriarchal and gerontocratic political and social structures/institutions, and gendered and adultist norms and practices limit their active and meaningful participation in SRH decision-making. In addition, donors' roles in SRH policymaking and their prioritization of the "girl child" highlight an enduring postcolonial power over agenda-setting processes. Understanding young people's experiences of gendered participation and scrutinizing underlying systemic forces are critical steps toward realizing young women's SRH and participatory rights.

Sexual and reproductive health and rights in Latin America: an analysis of trends, commitments and achievements.

The Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994 defined strategies and goals for advancing reproductive health and rights that are still far from being reached in Latin America. This paper will use elements of a framework developed by Gruskin et al(1) that analyses the interconnected factors affecting the sexual and reproductive health of people living with HIV. We use and adapt some of these elements to examine the extent to which sexual and reproductive rights have been realized in Latin America since 1994. Specifically, we consider the rights, needs and aspirations of people; the socioeconomic context; national and international law and policy; health systems, services and programmes; the opposition; the perceived high costs of political support; the role of civil society, NGO networks and coalitions; and development aid, donor policy and government funding. There are a growing number of progressive regional and national bodies, organizations, groups and individuals with a commitment to sexual and reproductive health and rights in the region, and many gains have been made in the realization of these rights. However, these gains are only partial, given the acute inequality across ethnic, socioeconomic and geographic lines, and there is evidence of widening gaps. Given the breadth of the subject and the number of countries involved, this paper can cite only a few of the enormous number of examples from the literature. We hope the paper will stimulate further in-depth, critical reviews of these issues at the country and regional level.

Grand Challenges Canada: inappropriate emphasis and missed opportunities in global health research?

In May 2010, Grand Challenges Canada (GCC) was launched with the mandate to identify global challenges in health that could be supported through the Government of Canada's Development Innovations Fund (DIF: $225 million over five years). The GCC offers a potentially excellent mechanism for taking Canada's participation in global health challenges "to a higher level". Recent GCC announcements raise new questions about the emphasis being placed on technological discovery or "catalytic" research. Missing so far are opportunities that the Fund could offer in order to support innovative research addressing i) health systems strengthening, ii) more effective delivery of existing interventions, and iii) policies and programs that address broader social determinants of health. The Canadian Grand Challenges announced to date risk pushing to the sidelines good translational and implementation science and early career-stage scientists addressing important social, environmental and political conditions that affect disease prevalence, progress and treatment; and the many unresolved challenges faced in bringing to scale proven interventions within resource-constrained health systems. We wish to register our concern at the apparent prioritization of biotechnical innovation research and the subordination of the social, environmental, economic and political context in which human health is either protected or eroded.

Youth participation in sexual and reproductive health: policy, practice, and progress in Malawi.

OBJECTIVES: Ensuring youth participation in policymaking that affects their health and well-being is increasingly recognized as a strategy to improve young people's reproductive health. This paper aimed to describe the policy context and analyze underlying factors that influence youth participation in sexual and reproductive health (SRH) policymaking in Malawi. METHODS: This critical, focused ethnographic study is informed by postcolonial feminism and difference-centered citizenship theory, based on data collected from October 2017 to May 2018. Multiple research methods were employed: document analysis, focus group discussions, and "moderate" participant observation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with key informants and youth, supplemented by open-ended drawing exercises with youth. RESULTS: Progressive policies and the presence of youth in some policymaking structures indicate substantial headway in Malawi. However, underlying structural and societal factors circumscribe young people's lived experiences of participation. CONCLUSIONS: Despite recent progress in involving young people in SRH policymaking, notable gaps remain between policy and practice. Recognizing and integrating young people in all stages of SRH policymaking is critical to catalyzing the social and political changes necessary to ensure their reproductive health and well-being.