The draft of the General Budget of the Republic for the fiscal year 2022 prioritized an increase of funds to the Secretariat of Health to face the purchase of vaccines (from COVID-19) and the hiring of health personnel, detailed the...
Is performance-based financing a pathway to strategic purchasing in sub-Saharan Africa? a synthesis of the evidence
In this study, the authors examine the question of whether and how PBF programs in sub-Saharan Africa influence strategic purchasing more broadly within the country’s health financing arrangements. Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa have implemented...
Examining healthcare purchasing arrangements for strategic purchasing in Nigeria: a case study of the Imo state healthcare system
Purchasing is a critical function of health financing which links resources mobilized in the health sector to effective delivery of quality healthcare services. Strategic purchasing therefore can help a country improve financial risk protection for the vulnerable...
Households forgoing healthcare as a measure of financial risk protection: an application to Liberia
This paper explores financial risk associated with access to healthcare services in Liberia. It also proposes a method to complement the standard financial risk protection measures in the WHO/World Bank global monitoring framework for Universal Health Coverage (UHC)....
Strengths and weaknesses of strategic health purchasing for Universal Health Coverage in Rwanda
Rwanda in part attributes its progress toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC) to the implementation of Community Based Health Insurance (CBHI). Some evidence shows that in Rwanda, CBHI has led to increases in health service utilization and better financial protection...
Strategic Health Purchasing in Nigeria: Investigating Governance and Institutional Capacities within Federal Tax-Funded Health Schemes and the Formal Sector Social Health Insurance Programme
Strategic purchasing has the potential of increasing equity in access to quality services and ensuring financial protection through deliberate effort to purchase services with the best value for money. This study examines the purchasing arrangements in schemes funded...
Strategic health purchasing progress mapping: a spotlight on Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme
Since the introduction of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in 2003, the enrolment rate has increased to 40% of the population and has significantly contributed to increased health service utilization and decreasing out-of-pocket payments and catastrophic...
The costs of South Africa’s National Health Insurance are yet to be calculated, says Finance Minister
Finance minister Enoch Godongwana says the government has not updated the cost model of the proposed National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) since the 2019/2020 financial year. Responding in a written parliamentary question and answer session, Godongwana said this...
It takes two to tango: enabling public facilities to participate in purchasing arrangements in Kenya
Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) across the world are embracing purchasing reforms that, at their core, involve payers reimbursing providers based on outputs. Some have adopted free care policies wherein facilities are compensated for user fees forgone. Others...
Strategic Purchasing Arrangements in Uganda and Their Implications for Universal Health Coverage
Uganda's mixed health financing system creates challenges for achieving universal health coverage but offers opportunities for improvement through better resource pooling and provider autonomy.A new research article published in the Health Systems and Reform Journal...
Supporting strategic health purchasing: a case study of annual health budgets from General Tax Revenue and Social Health Insurance in Abia State, Nigeria
The recent health financing reforms in Nigeria such as the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) and state-supported Social Health Insurance (SHI) schemes recognize the critical roles of state governments and related agencies in defining, deciding, implementing, and...
Why is strategic purchasing critical for Universal Health Coverage in Sub-Saharan Africa?
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...
Applying the strategic health purchasing progress tracking framework: Lessons from nine African countries
Strategic purchasing by deliberately directing health funds to priority populations, interventions, and services to ensure equity and efficiency can help countries reduce inequalities and out-of-pocket expenditures thereby improving social health protection. To help...
GFF organises a seminar on the institutionalisation of Zimbabwe’s Results Based Financing
In 2011, the Government of Zimbabwe in collaboration with the World Bank, initiated Results Based Financing (RBF) with the goal of increasing the availability, accessibility and utilisation of quality health care services. RBF is an example of strategic purchasing...
Seminar invitation: Institutionalization of Results-Based Financing: Lessons from Zimbabwe
The GFF with support from the World Bank has organised a seminar focusing on lessons learnt in institutionalizing Results Based Financing in Zimbabwe. Building on the ongoing discussion around mainstreaming results-based financing (RBF) in the health sector, this...