Health Policy Development

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The focus is on :
  • Orienting countries in the development of the formulation of their National Health policies through availing of guidelines and tools.
  • Providing integrated and coordinated approaches (leadership, advice, partnership) to countries in developing their National Health policies.
  • Building capacities within the Ministries of Health (in collaboration with units in DSD and other AFRO Divisions) for policy dialogue, policy analysis, policy formulation.

In 2008, the Regional Office organized an International Conference on Primary Health Care and Health Systems was successfully co organized by WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNAIDS, AfDB and World Bank and hosted by the Government of Burkina Faso. Over 600 participants from the 46 Member States of the African Region and outside Africa attended the Conference. Two documents AFR/PHC/08/1 (Discussion Paper) and AFR/PHC/08/2 (Summaries of Country Experiences on Primary Health Care Revitalization) were produced and shared among participants.

Member States shared their and they strongly endorsed the values and principles of PHC. The Conference adopted the "Ouagadougou Declaration on Primary Health Care and Health Systems in Africa: Achieving Better Health for Africa in the New Millennium". This Declaration was endorsed by the 58th Regional Committee which also adopted the related Resolution AFR/RC58/R3. A generic Framework for the implementation of this Declaration has been prepared building on the priority areas highlighted in the Declaration as well as other policies and goals related to health development.

Within the context of implementing the Declaration four countries (Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique and Nigeria) started the process of revitalization of PHC including community based health services. Ten countries strengthened capacities of their district health systems in areas such as planning, management, integration of activities, supervision, and monitoring and evaluation. Congo, Ethiopia and Mauritania developed tools and or reviewed their essential health packages to concentrate scarce resources on high impact interventions. Niger developed a strategy on quality assurance. Madagascar undertook District Health Systems Rapid assessment. This brings to 25, the number of countries that undertaken a rapid assessment of the operationality of the district health system in the past three years.

The Regional Office continued to provide support to Member States to revise or develop their national health policy and health strategic plans. Eritrea and Malawi developed their National Health Policy bringing the total of countries that have developed their with national health policies in the past five years to 19. Benin, Swaziland developed their health strategic plan (HSP), making a total of 22 countries in the past 5 years while Comoros, Eritrea, Namibia and Senegal are in the process of revising their HSP.

Ghana, Madagascar and Uganda organized their annual joint health sector review. Comoros has developed their Public Health Code. Benin and Democratic Republic of Congo undertook an organizational audit of their Ministry of Health. Uganda finalized its stakeholder mapping and developed and costed a scale up plan. Ghana strengthened partners' coordination. By the end of 2007, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda and Zambia had already reviewed and revised their health sector management structures.

On policy formulation, the Regional Office continued to provide technical support to countries. To date 44 national health policies have been developed/revised based on the AFRO guidelines. This represents an increase of 35% in the past 4 years. The process of developing these NHP is improving through a more inclusive approach involving all relevant stockholders active in health development. However, efforts have to be made to strengthen the capacity of countries in policy analysis.