Abstract
Most countries in the global South became independent in the 1950s and 1960s, resulting in governments becoming responsible for health service infras- tructure, management of healthcare staff, public health programmes, and med- ical education. In the 1980s and 1990s, a series of economic difficulties, like the debt crisis and the decrease in development assistance, paved the way for health policy reforms in many low- and lower middle-income countries (Nuruzzaman, 2007). Health policies, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), are decisions, plans, and actions that are undertaken to achieve specific healthcare goals within a society, while reforms mean change — improvements of what is corrupt or unsatisfactory. A well-functioning healthcare system is a prerequisite to operationalize policies (Buse et al., 2012).
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© 2015 Goran Tomson and Olivia Biermann
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Tomson, G., Biermann, O. (2015). Health Policy Reform in Low-Income and Lower Middle-Income Countries in Southeast Asia. In: Kuhlmann, E., Blank, R.H., Bourgeault, I.L., Wendt, C. (eds) The Palgrave International Handbook of Healthcare Policy and Governance. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137384935_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137384935_11
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