Highlights from global health economics and policy papers published in 2021 across the JoGH group journals

During 2021, the other journals in the Journal of Global Health (JoGH) group published a wide range of studies addressing critical issues in global health economics and policy. These papers reflected the profound disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, while also advancing evidence on long-standing priorities such as health system financing, community health, maternal and child health, and the social determinants of health. Together, they offered important insights into how economic and policy choices shape health outcomes across diverse settings.

Several papers focused on the economic and policy consequences of COVID-19. These included analyses of localized lockdowns and their economic impacts, the costs and benefits of emergency field hospitals, and behavioural explanations for vaccine regulatory decisions. Other contributions examined vaccine inequality, the sustainability of global vaccination programmes, and opportunities to integrate broader public health interventions into large-scale immunisation campaigns. Commentaries and analyses also highlighted lessons from the pandemic, including the need to strengthen public health systems, address non-communicable diseases through primary care, and understand the political and institutional drivers of pandemic responses.

Beyond COVID-19, a substantial body of work explored community health systems, maternal and adolescent health, and child health inequalities. Studies examined community health worker incentives, the effectiveness of home-based newborn care, and parental health-seeking behaviours across multiple African countries. A series of analyses from West and Central Africa investigated adolescent marriage, maternity, undernutrition, anaemia, and their long-term socio-economic consequences. Additional research addressed childhood infections, wealth-related health inequalities, tobacco use, and the economic factors shaping HIV risk among young people.

Economic evaluations and policy-relevant studies were also prominent. These included a cost-effectiveness analysis of short-term surgical missions, assessments of conditional cash transfer programmes and adolescent mental health, and investigations into the economic determinants of health behaviours. Collectively, these studies demonstrate the breadth of topics at the intersection of economics, policy, and population health, and highlight the importance of evidence-informed decision-making in both emergency and routine health system contexts.

Below, we present our selection of these contributions, listed alphabetically by the surname of the first author:

• Agarwal S, Abuya T, Kintu R, Mwanga D, Obadha M, Pandya S, et al. Understanding community health worker incentive preferences in Uganda using a discrete choice experiment. J Glob Health. 2021;11:07005.

• Asahi K, Undurraga EA, Valdés R, Wagner R. The effect of COVID-19 on the economy: Evidence from an early adopter of localized lockdowns. J Glob Health. 2021;11:05002.

• Bogler L, Weber AC, Ntambi J, Simen-Kapeu A, Zagre NM, Ekpini RE, et al. Health-care seeking for childhood diseases by parental age in Western and Central Africa between 1995 and 2017: A descriptive analysis using DHS and MICS from 23 low- and middle-income countries. J Glob Health. 2021;11:13010.

• Cai Y, Chen Y, Xiao L, Khor S, Liu T, Han Y, et al. The health and economic impact of constructing temporary field hospitals to meet the COVID-19 pandemic surge: Wuhan Leishenshan Hospital in China as a case study. J Glob Health. 2021;11:05023.

• Costa-Font J, Asaria M, Mossialos E. ‘Erring on the side of rare events’? A behavioural explanation for COVID-19 vaccine regulatory misalignment. J Glob Health. 2021;11:03080.

• Doraiswamy S, Cheema S, Abraham A, Ameduri M, Mamtani R. The single most important lesson from COVID-19 - It is time to take public health seriously. J Glob Health. 2021;11:03073.

• Gaumer G, Jordan M, Sherafat-Kazemzadeh R, Hariharan D, Bosman V, Nandakumar AK. The role of economic factors and risky behavior for youth and young adults in the HIV epidemic in 29 low- and middle-income countries. Journal of Global Health Reports. 2021;5:e2021026. doi:10.29392/001c.21946

• Le Dain AS, Sagalova V, Sodjinou R, Tou EH, Ntambi J, Vollmer S, et al. Levels and trends of adolescent girl’s undernutrition and anemia in West and Central Africa from 1998 to 2017. J Glob Health. 2021;11:13006.

• Newton-Lewis TA, Bahety G. Evaluating the effectiveness of Community Health Worker home visits on infant health: A quasi-experimental evaluation of Home Based Newborn Care Plus in India. J Glob Health. 2021;11:04060.

• Rudan I. This is who to blame for the COVID-19 pandemic. J Glob Health. 2021;11:03035.

• Sagalova V, Garcia J, Bärnighausen T, Ntambi J, Sodjinou R, Zagre NM, et al. Levels and trends of adolescent marriage and maternity in West and Central Africa, 1986-2017. J Glob Health. 2021;11:13001.

• Sagalova V, Garcia J, Kapeu AS, Ntambi J, Zagre NM, Vollmer S. Socio-economic predictors of adolescent marriage and maternity in West and Central Africa between 1986 and 2017. J Glob Health. 2021;11:13002.

• Sagalova V, Le Dain AS, Bärnighausen T, Zagre NM, Vollmer S. Does early childbearing affect utilization of antenatal care services and infant birth weight: Evidence from West and Central African Region. J Glob Health. 2021;11:13003.

• Sagalova V, Nanama S, Zagre NM, Vollmer S. Long-term consequences of early marriage and maternity in West and Central Africa: Wealth, education, and fertility. J Glob Health. 2021;11:13004.

• Sagalova V, Vollmer S, Ntambi J, Sodjinou R, Simen-Kapeu A, Bärnighausen T, et al. Socio-economic predictors of undernutrition and anaemia in adolescent mothers in West and Central Africa. J Glob Health. 2021;11:13007.

• Simen-Kapeu A, Bogler L, Weber AC, Ntambi J, Zagre NM, Vollmer S, et al. Prevalence of diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections, and malaria over time (1995-2017): A regional analysis of 23 countries in West and Central Africa. J Glob Health. 2021;11:13008.

• Singh A, Logo DD, Dobbie F, et al. Tobacco use and COVID-19 in Ghana: generating evidence to support policy and practice. Journal of Global Health Reports. 2021;5:e2021006.

• Tatar M, Shoorekchali JM, Faraji MR, Wilson FA. International COVID-19 vaccine inequality amid the pandemic: Perpetuating a global crisis? J Glob Health. 2021;11:03086.

• Tatar M, Wilson FA. The largest vaccination campaign in history: A golden opportunity for bundling public health interventions. J Glob Health. 2021;11:03076.

• Taylor KP, Ortiz A, Paltzer J. Short-term general, gynecologic, orthopedic, and pediatric surgical mission trips in Nicaragua: A cost-effectiveness analysis. J Glob Health. 2021;11:04024.

• Vu TS, Le MA, Huynh NTV, Truong L, Vu GT, Nguyen LH, et al. Towards efficacy and sustainability of global, regional and national COVID-19 vaccination programs. J Glob Health. 2021;11:03099.

• Weber AC, Bogler L, Vollmer S, Simen-Kapeu A, Ekpini RE, Zagre NM. The wealth gradient in diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections, and malaria in childhood over time: A descriptive analysis using DHS and MICS from Western and Central Africa between 1995 and 2017. J Glob Health. 2021;11:13009.

• Yadav UN, Mistry SK, Ghimire S, Schneider CH, Rawal LB, Acharya SP, et al. Recognizing the roles of primary health care in addressing non-communicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries: Lesson from COVID-19, implications for the future. J Glob Health. 2021;11:03120.

• Ziebold C, Paula CS, Santos IS, Barros FC, Munhoz TN, Lund C, et al. Conditional cash transfers and adolescent mental health in Brazil: Evidence from the 2004 Pelotas Birth Cohort. J Glob Health. 2021;11:04066.

We expect that readers of JoGH Economics and Policy will find these contributions valuable for informing research, policy, and practice in global health.