Understanding the processes and actors involved in policy development and relevant decision-making is crucial for public health researchers and practitioners to be effective in any setting, especially in low- and middle-income countries. In this regard, this course:

- Overviews political and theoretical frameworks related to policy development and practical perspectives on their application to global health, with a focus on international institutions and low- and middle-income countries;
- Provides analytical tools to understand the political economy of health policy, namely, how the political environments, national contexts and economies, and planning systems come together to influence the process of health policy development;
- Introduces the main actors, processes, and contextual features that are typical of or relevant to policy development, especially in the context of global and regional health programmes;
- Discusses the different dimensions of health programmes, strategies, and policies, such as health system strengthening, gender inequalities, human rights impacts, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), human resources for health, and so forth; and
- Reflects on the issues, such as national policy and planning frameworks, relationships with aid donors, policy networks (and civil society organisations), policy implementers and their roles in shaping policy development, and mechanisms for global health governance.