Strengthening equitable health systems in West Africa: The regional project on governance research for equity in health systems

The West African Health Organization (WAHO) supported an innovative regional initiative that contributes to building effective decision making, community and researcher partnerships to strengthen equitable health systems and influence local programmes and policies. Four projects were funded in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso and Senegal, supported by a Regional Advisory Committee of experts and local Steering Committees. Based on a framework drawn from WAHO objectives, we reviewed documents, conducted 56 project stakeholder interviews and undertook thematic analysis. A diverse range of stakeholders perceived that the projects were in line with national priorities, were well managed and were equitably implemented. The projects generated evidence that could increase access to and improve quality maternal health services. Sustainable partnerships were formed and stakeholder and research team capacity were strengthened. Our study provides insight into project implementation in West Africa, bearing in mind context-specific issues. (Afr J Reprod Health 2022; 26[5]: 81-89).

Las enfermedades crónicas y la ineludible transformación de los sistemas de salud en América Latina / Chronic diseases and the unavoidable transformation of health systems in Latin America

La carga de enfermedad y mortalidad por condiciones crónicas constituye un importante reto para todos los sistemas de salud alrededor del mundo, especialmente en los países de medianos y bajos ingresos. Sin embargo, la mayoría de los sistemas de salud realizan un manejo inadecuado de estas enfermedades. En el presente trabajo se cuestiona el hecho de que los esfuerzos globales por mejorar la atención a las enfermedades crónicas continúen obedeciendo a una lógica vertical. Apoyado en la evidencia arrojada por el sistema de salud cubano y de otros países en Europa y América Latina, se propone la estrategia de Atención Primaria en Salud como una solución factible para mejorar el abordaje de las enfermedades crónicas.Se sugiere la necesidad de trabajar por una agenda internacional que vaya más allá del fortalecimiento y se proponga la transformación de los sistemas de salud. Dada la magnitud y complejidad de los retos que enfrentan los sistemas de salud contemporáneos, se aboga por una triple transformación: epistemológica, operativa y ética(AU)

The burden of diseases and mortality from chronic conditions represents a significant challenge for health care systems worldwide, especially for middle and low income countries. Notwithstanding, the majority of health systems provide inadequate chronic care of these diseases. The present paper questions that a lot of global efforts aimed at improving the care of chronic diseases still responds to a vertical logics. On the basis of the evidence provided by the Cuban health system and that of other countries in Europe and Latin America, this paper puts forward the strategy of the primary health care as a feasible solution for improved approach to chronic diseases. The need of working for an international agenda that not only encourage the strengthening of health systems but also their transformation as well was stated. Given the magnitude and complexity of challenges ahead for the contemporary health systems, a triple transformation in the epistemological, operative and ethical fields is advocated(AU)

Towards universal health coverage: an example of malaria intervention in Nepal.

A comprehensive and integrated assessment of health-system functioning requires measurement of universal health coverage (UHC) for disease-specific interventions. This paper aims to contribute to measurement of UHC by utilizing locally available data related to malaria in Nepal. This paper utilizes the elements of UHC as outlined by the World Health Organization (WHO). The concept of UHC represents both improvements in health outcomes and protection of people from poverty induced by health-care costs. Measuring UHC focusing on a tropical disease highlights the progress made towards elimination of the disease and exhibits health-system bottlenecks in achieving elimination of the disease. Several bottlenecks are found in the Nepalese health system that strongly suggest the need to focus on health-system strengthening to shift the health production function of malaria intervention. The disaggregated data clearly show the inequality of service coverage among subgroups of the population. Analysis of effective coverage of malaria interventions indicates the insufficient quality of current interventions. None of households faced catastrophic impact due to payment for malaria care in Nepal. However, the costs of hospital-based care of malaria were not captured in this analysis. The paper provides the current status of UHC for malaria interventions and reveals system bottlenecks on which policy-makers and stakeholders should focus to improve Nepal’s malaria control strategy. It concludes that financial coverage of the malaria intervention is at an acceptable level; however, service coverage needs to be improved.

Performance-based Incentives to Improve Health Status of Mothers and Newborns: What Does the Evidence Show.

Performance-based incentives (PBIs) aim to counteract weak providers’ performance in health systems of many developing countries by providing rewards that are directly linked to better health outcomes for mothers and their newborns. Translating funding into better health requires many actions by a large number of people. The actions span from community to the national level. While different forms of PBIs are being implemented in a number of countries to improve health outcomes, there has not been a systematic review of the evidence of their impact on the health of mothers and newborns. This paper analyzes and synthesizes the available evidence from published studies on the impact of supply-side PBIs on the quantity and quality of health services for mothers and newborns. This paper reviews evidence from published and grey literature that spans PBI for public-sector facilities, PBI in social insurance reforms, and PBI in NGO contracting. Some initiatives focus on safe deliveries, and others reward a broader package of results that include deliveries. The Evidence Review Team that focused on supply-side incentives for the US Government Evidence Summit on Enhancing Provision and Use of Maternal Health Services through Financial Incentives, reviewed published research reports and papers and added studies from additional grey literature that were deemed relevant. After collecting and reviewing 17 documents, nine studies were included in this review, three of which used before-after designs; four included comparison or control groups; one applied econometric methods to a five-year time series; and one reported results from a large-scale impact evaluation with randomly-assigned intervention and control facilities. The available evidence suggests that incentives that reward providers for institutional deliveries result in an increase in the number of institutional deliveries. There is some evidence that the content of antenatal care can improve with PBI. We found no direct evidence on the impact of PBI on neonatal health services or on mortality of mothers and newborns, although intention of the study was not to document impact on mortality. A number of studies describe approaches to rewarding quality as well as increases in the quantities of services provided, although how quality is defined and monitored is not always clear. Because incentives exist in all health systems, considering how to align the incentives of the many health workers and their supervisors so that they focus efforts on achieving health goals for mothers and newborns is critical if the health system is to perform more effectively and efficiently. A wide range of PBI models is being developed and tested, and there is still much to learn about what works best. Future studies should include a larger focus on rewarding quality and measuring its impact. Finally, more qualitative research to better understand PBI implementation and how various incentive models function in different settings is needed to help practitioners refine and improve their programmes.

Can Japan Contribute to the Post Millennium Development Goals? Making Human Security Mainstream through the TICAD Process

In 2013, the fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V) will be hosted by the Japanese government. TICAD, which has been held every five years, has played a catalytic role in African policy dialogue and a leading role in promoting the human security approach (HSA). We review the development of the HSA in the TICAD dialogue on health agendas and recommend TICAD’s role in the integration of the HSA beyond the 2015 agenda. While health was not the main agenda in TICAD I and II, the importance of primary health care, and the development of regional health systems was noted in TICAD III. In 2008, when Japan hosted both the G8 summit and TICAD IV, the Takemi Working Group developed strong momentum for health in Africa. Their policy dialogues on global health in Sub-Saharan Africa incubated several recommendations highlighting HSA and health system strengthening (HSS). HSA is relevant to HSS because it focuses on individuals and communities. It has two mutually reinforcing strategies, a top-down approach by central or local governments (protection) and a bottom-up approach by individuals and communities (empowerment). The “Yokohama Action Plan,” which promotes HSA was welcomed by the TICAD IV member countries. Universal health coverage (UHC) is a major candidate for the post-2015 agenda recommended by the World Health Organization. We expect UHC to provide a more balanced approach between specific disease focus and system-based solutions. Japan’s global health policy is coherent with HSA because human security can be the basis of UHC-compatible HSS.

Health development in Africa: Accelerated improvement of health status and recommendations for Japan's development assistance / 国際保健医療

Recent studies reveal that Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries are now experiencing rapid scaling up of health services and improvement of health status. It is reported that services related to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria are rapidly expanding especially after 2005. According to the latest household surveys (such as Demographic and Health Surveys and Malaria Indicator Surveys) conducted after 2000, annual rate of reduction in under five mortality rate of 5% or more is observed in more than 10 countries. This revolutionary change in SSA was triggered at least partly by development assistance for health (DAH), which increased 5 folds after 2000. On the other hand, DAH to SSA by the Japanese government (bilateral basis only and excluding contributions to multi-lateral organizations and global health partnerships such as GFATM) represents merely 1% of the total, which is equivalent to $0.1 per person living in Africa. The impact, therefore, may be limited. Increase in quantity of DAH including partial support for recurrent expenditures, contribution to rule making and monitoring of DAH use within the partner coordination framework, better targeting on selected number of countries, focus on health systems strengthening, and scientific and multi-sectoral analysis of success factors of high-performing countries, are recommended as future directions of Japanese DAH to SSA.

Mapeo de problemas para la atención a la salud materna por actores estatales y federales / Problem mapping by state and federal actors for maternal health attention

OBJETIVO: Analizar las características de problemas del sistema de salud que obstaculizan la atención materna, según los representan y califican funcionarios en diversos puestos y contextos sociales. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Se realizaron talleres con funcionarios de estados de alta mortalidad materna en México (México, Guerrero, Oaxaca y Veracruz) y a nivel federal. Se identificaron 99 problemas en los sistemas de salud. Utilizando mapeo conceptual, 94 funcionarios calificaron los problemas según importancia y factibilidad y se agruparon en regiones. Se analizaron los datos según estado/federación y responsabilidades de los participantes. Se midió la asociación entre perfil/contexto y la priorización de las regiones. RESULTADOS: Las regiones de alta prioridad para la atención materna son infraestructura, contratación de personal y recursos financieros. La importancia de algunas regiones depende del contexto social, aunque también en parte del perfil de responsabilidades de los actores. CONCLUSIONES: Existe consenso entre actores para enfrentar los principales problemas de salud materna en México. Diferencias importantes se deben a diversos contextos. Se demostró la utilidad del mapeo conceptual para el análisis de problemas.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the characteristics of problems in the health system that present barriers to maternal care, according to their representation and rating by officials in different positions and social contexts. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Workshops were held with state health system officials from Mexican states with high maternal mortality (Mexico, Guerrero, Oaxaca and Veracruz) as well as with federal officials. A total of 99 health system problems were identified. Using concept mapping, 94 officials rated problems according to importance and feasibility; they were grouped into issues. Data was analyzed according to state/federal levels and the responsibilities of participants. The association was measured between responsibility profile/social context and priority issues. RESULTS: The issues of highest priority for maternal health care are infrastructure, personnel hiring and financial resources. The importance of certain issues depends on context and, to an extent, on the actors' responsibilities. CONCLUSIONS: There is consensus among actors to address the principal maternal health problems in Mexico. Important differences correspond to context. The usefulness of concept mapping to analyze problems was demonstrated.