Strategic Purchasing in health is defined as a deliberate effort by governments to direct health funds to priority populations, interventions, and services, and actively create incentives so funds are used by providers equitably and aligned with population health needs. Evidence shows that strategic purchasing can reduce service coverage inequalities and improve financial risk protection. For sub-Saharan African countries, strategic purchasing is particularly important given the limited resources.
In this paper, the authors explore the critical role strategic purchasing can play in the movement toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in sub-Saharan Africa. They explore the rationale for strategic purchasing and make the case for a more concerted effort by governments, and the partners that support them, to focus on and invest in improving strategic purchasing as part of advancing their UHC agendas. The authors also discuss the promise of strategic purchasing and the challenges of realizing this promise in sub-Saharan Africa, and provide options for practical steps countries can take to incrementally improve strategic purchasing functions and policies over time.
The link to the article can be found here