EASE International

Contact

Anita Alban:
aa @ easeint.com
www.easeint.com

Institutional background

EASE International is a consulting company based in Copenhagen. EASE International's major objective is to carry out analyses, assessments, and evaluations aimed at finding solutions and making recommendations for strategies and policies leading to improvements in peoples' health and welfare in accordance with the ease principle. EASE International target groups are: bilateral and multilateral organisations, NGOs and governments in developing countries and countries in transition.

Research focus

The main areas of EASE expertise are health economics and health services research with a focus on developing countries and countries in transition. EASE is committed to striving for solutions that achieve Efficiency, Affordability, Sustainability and Equity (the ease principle).

Researchers profiles

Anita Alban is a health economist for more than 25 years with expertise within economic analysis including priority setting, outcome measurement, sustainable financing, financing and organisation of health care, HIV and economics, and the economics of vaccine. She has worked extensively in Europe including countries in economic transition and a range of countries in Africa and Asia. Her employment record includes Director of Research in the Danish Institute of Health Services Research and Development, 1986-1997; senior economist, UNAIDS, 1997-2000; and Director of EASE International, Copenhagen, 2000-. She has published widely in books and scientific journals within her areas of expertise – in recent years mainly on Strategic Health Plans, HIV/AIDS and access to health services for poor people. She works for Danida, DFID, the World Bank, UNDP, UNAIDS and WHO.

Research collaboration

DSI, Danish Institute of Health Services Research:
- Projects in Eastern Europe   

International Health Unit, University of Copenhagen

AIDS and Economics Network:
- State of the Art book every second year (International AIDS Conferences)   

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, LSHTM:
- Health Policy Unit – ad hoc

Involvement in capacity development

Building capacity in MOH/HEFU (Health Economics and Financing Unit), Government of Nepal in costing and planning for the implementation and scale up of the Essential Health Service package
Reference: Under-Secretary Tanka Mani Sharma, Chief of Finance, MOH/Nepal

Support to The AIDS Support Organisation in Uganda, TASO, to develop a five year Strategy for the organisation including prioritisation
Reference: Director Alex Coutinho, TASO

Booklet (with Michael Hahn) on costing of HIV/AIDS Strategic Plans in the Asia and Pacific Region for UNAIDS/APICT.
Reference: Team leader Swarup Sarkar

Development of training material on HIV/AIDS and development for the staff in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Danida
Reference: Technical Advisor HIV/AIDS Lise Kaalund Joergensen, MOFA, Copenhagen

Consultancies

Anita Alban

• Economic Assessment of the Essential Health Care Services including Mother & Baby interventions, CB-IMCI, EPI and TB (The World Bank/Nepal, 2003/04)
  
  
• Cost recovery and HAART in Burkina Faso. Policy issues. (The World Bank/Burkina Faso, 2003)
  
  
• Health economics support to tracking study of the GFATM applications in Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia 2003-2004) with LSHTM (Danida funded)
  
  
• Resource Allocation and Purchasing (RAP) strategies in pharmaceuticals. Background paper and book chapter. (The World Bank, 2003)
  
  
• The role of pharmaceuticals in accelerating programs towards achieving the MDGs. Background paper and article. (The World Bank, 2003)
  
  
• Costing of Tanzania HIV Strategic Plan 2003-2007 (Danida and the Government of Tanzania, 2002/03)
  
  
• Development of project Document: UNDP funding for HIV/AIDS activities in the Gambia 2003-2005 (UNDP, Africa Region, 2003)
  
  
• Economic Assessment of the Health Sector Strategy: An Agenda for Reform, Nepal (The World Bank, 2002)
  
  
• Head of Secretariat for Think Tank on HIV/AIDS in support of policy-making, 2001-2002 (Danida): Think AIDS
  
  
• Appraisal of TASO Strategic Plan 2003-2007, Uganda (Danida, 2002)
  
  
• Joint Review of Health Sector Reform, HIV/AIDS, Tanzania (Tanzania Government, 2002)
  
  
• Costing of Nepal HIV/AIDS strategic Plan (DFID, 2002)
  
  
• Booklet on costing of HIV/AIDS Strategic Plans in the Asia and Pacific Region (UNAIDS/APICT, 2002)
  
  
• HIV/AIDS identification review and activities design for Malawi (Danida, 2001)
  
  
• The economics of blindness in India, teaching material (KAMPSAX, 2001)
  
  
• Contributions to costing guidelines for targeted interventions, India: You and AIDS , India, 2001
  
  
• Priority setting of extra resources for HIV/AIDS, Zimbabwe (Danida, 2001)
  
  
• Development of training material on HIV/AIDS and development for the staff in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Danida, 2001)
  
  
• Development of background material, statements and presentations for 3rd UN Conference of Least Developed Countries (UNAIDS, 2001)

Peer reviewed publications

Alban A, Enemark U, Vazquez ECS. The role of pharmaceutical policies in attaining the MDGs. Background Paper, Health, Nutrition and Population, The World Bank, August 2003

Enemark U, Alban A, Vazquez ECS. Resource Allocation and Purchasing (RAP) strategies in the area of pharmaceutical in developing countries. Background Paper and book chapter (forthcoming 4/2004), Health, Nutrition and Population, The World Bank, July 2003

Alban A.: HAART Choices in Africa. Paper presented at the 4th World Congress in Health Economics, 15-17 June 2003, San Francisco, USA

Creese, A., Floyd, K., Alban A., Guinness, L.: Cost-effectiveness of HIV/AIDS interventions in Africa: A review of the evidence. The Lancet , Vol. 305, 11 May 2002: 1635-1642