Now a decade later, a new primary care measurement framework based on that foundational work is used by countries around the world to improve health care for their people – it will have impact far into the future.
I met Annette in 2012 when I was invited to see her present the results of a study she led in Cambodia to calculate how much it cost for the government to deliver basic health services. I was so impressed, especially when Annette described climbing into the attic of a health clinic in rural Cambodia to track down the last bits of data to get accurate results. I asked her on the spot to join a team of us starting a peer learning network to help experts in countries across the globe learn from each other how to do practical things like get good cost estimates of essential health services. This was the early days of the Joint Learning Network for Universal Health Coverage—which is now a major, well-established peer learning network to improve health systems. Annette packed her suitcase and joined our first meeting in Bangkok the following week. She went on to be one of the pioneers of the Joint Learning Network, facilitating a group of experts from 6 countries to share their knowledge and create a practical toolkit that was translated into multiple languages and is one of the most used global health financing resources to this day.
These are just 2 examples of how Annette changed the world during her career in global health by bringing her gifts, her expertise, her warmth and love to the service of others.
She used her gift of deeply listening and always respecting every person’s perspective to create a new way to build knowledge through peer learning that is emulated today in multiple global learning networks.
She used her gift of thorough and precise application of her own expertise to develop lasting practical tools that help countries use their limited health budgets in the best way to fund essential services like immunization for poor and vulnerable populations to improve their primary care systems.
She used her gift of always exuding joy to inspire a huge network of colleagues and to mentor a new generation of young professionals. So another way Annette’s impact will be felt far into the future is through the people she touched who will follow the example she set, many of whom are here today. They have all told us that she had a tremendous impact on them personally. She had a tremendous impact on me, personally—on us.
