Since Part 1 of the Annual Health Financing Forum (AHFF) took place in July 2020, it’s become clear that the COVID-19 pandemic will last considerably longer than initially hoped. Everywhere uncertainty abounds about whether new waves of the infection will occur, the extent to which attempts to reduce infection rates will further reduce economic activity, and whether global economic growth can bounce back while countries adapt to living with coronavirus while waiting for a vaccine or effective treatment.

As the world deals with this uncertainty, countries are at different stages of addressing the pandemic. One group of countries, including some of the largest economies in the world, can be characterized as not yet having controlled the first wave of the pandemic. A second group controlled the first wave but are now facing a second wave. In a third group, mostly low- and middle-income countries, coronavirus cases seem to have peaked for the moment. The result is that the immediate health financing concerns of these groups are different, and therefore varied strategies and considerations are needed.

AHFF Part 2, taking place in November 2020, will explore the different pressing health financing questions countries are facing during what promises to be a longer pandemic than initially expected, with possible waves of infection. Over the course of scheduled virtual sessions, participants will discuss issues such as maintaining health spending during a prolonged pandemic. In addition to these sessions, the first Adam Wagstaff Memorial Lecture will also take place during Part 2 of the Forum. The lecture will commemorate Wagstaff’s influential work in the area of health economics and financing, focused on his recent work on measuring progress towards universal health coverage.