History

Information and evidence often exist but is not necessarily collected, organized and disseminated in a useful and timely fashion. Training for capacity building, catering to common needs of the countries in the region, and designing tailored solutions to unique, country specific situations has to be provided in a strategic way. Institutions in Asia expressed a common desire for a consortium type network that can assist the governments to share experiences and lessons, and offer in-depth knowledge and practical skills training in the various areas of health systems strengthening. AS a result, the World Bank Institute (WBI) supported the establishment of the Asia Network for Capacity Building in Health Systems Strengthening. The Network was launched during the world conference of the International Health Economics Association (iHEA) in Beijing, China, in July 2009. The partnership was initially established as a collaborative effort among nine national institutions and WBI.