Source: (3)
The six building blocks contribute to the strengthening of health systems in different ways. Some cross-cutting
components, such as leadership/governance and health information systems, provide the basis for the overall
policy and regulation of all the other health system blocks. Key input components to the health system include
specifically, financing and the health workforce. A third group, namely medical products and technologies and
service delivery, reflects the immediate outputs of the health system, i.e. the availability and distribution of care.
Inevitably, any type of division of a complex construct such as the health system is fraught with problems. This
is also true for the framework, which focuses on health sector actions and underplays the importance of actions
in other sectors. It does not take into account actions that influence peoples’ behaviours, both in promoting and
protecting health and the use of health-care services. The framework does not address the underlying social
and economic determinants of health, such as gender inequities or education, and also does not deal with the
substantial and dynamic links and interactions that exist across each component.
On the other hand, focusing on these separate components helps put boundaries around this complex construct
and permits the identification of indicators and measurement strategies for monitoring progress.