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

1) 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;

2) Provides analytical tools to understand the political economy of health policy, namely, the way in which the political environments, national contexts and economies, and planning systems come together to influence the process of health policy development;

3) 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;

4) Discuss the different dimensions of health programmes, strategies, and policies, such as health system strengthening, gender inequalities, human rights impacts, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and human resources for health, and so forth;

5) Critically reflect on the issues, such as national policy and planning frameworks, relationships with aid donors, the role of policy networks (particularly civil society organisations), policy implementers and their role in shaping policy development, and mechanisms for global health governance.