The P4H Country Focal Person continues liaison with the Ministry of Health in Namibia towards budgetary dialogue in the context of COVID-19.
Discussion with Deputy Director Budget and Finance:
There were discussions with Deputy Director Budget and Finance who highlighted the importance of prioritizing on Performance Based Budgeting but also the resource allocation formula to strengthen and improve the budgeting process. He talked about how COVID has brought a shock to the MOHSS and the health financing planning. Given that ACTA support was for a short duration, but also knowing that Namibia was just starting on the process and want to agree what the focus for health financing towards Universal Health Coverage is going to be, it was agreed that resource allocation formula piece could be shelved for now. And then once the UHC landscape for health financing is finalized, thinking of additional work under the health financing could be supported beyond Public Private Partnerships.
Based on the assessment of Performance Based Budgeting and knowing where the country stand, the results will be used for a national budget dialogue which would then inform some of the much-needed improvements for eg: stability in funding, capacity building of national and sub-national stakeholders in terms of PBB, define a program, prioritizing financing, assessing the financing in the health sector in line with the priority for health sector.
Discussion with Primary Health Care Directorate:
The Head of Primary Health Care Directorate was also very much interested in this initiative, one because the country was already talking about updating its Essential Health Care Package but also they were quite keen to understand the extent to which the pandemic has affected the delivery of services. Also, recognizing that COVID was going to be here for at least next few years, it was important to understand how this existing package has been affected by pandemic, what has suffered, what hasn’t, were there certain interventions that are over provided and others that are not, issues to do with equity, issues to do with quality of care. The assessment of Essential Health Care Package findings will inform the development and revision of package within the existing framework.
