The Ministry of Health in Mozambique is currently finalising its Health Sector Strategic Plan (Plano Estratégico do Sector Saúde - PESS 2013-2017). 

The PESS is a comprehensive plan, which incorporates and prioritises all areas of the health sector. It aims at guiding the health sector in the most beneficial direction to achieve established goals. 

In July 2013, the Ministry of Health will for the first time subject the PESS to a Joint Assessment of National Health Strategies and Plans (JANS) review as Mozambique will be hosting a mission of international and national experts to assess the PESS.

The JANS is a tool developed under International Health Partnership framework, which aims at mobilising international support around a single national health strategy, harmonise donor funding and improve the way that international and national partners work together to develop and implement national health plans.

It is a standardised, internationally recognised set of tools to assess the quality national health strategies against five overall attributes, which are considered crucial for a comprehensive national strategy:

Situation analysis and programming: clarity and relevance of strategies, based on sound situation analysis;
The process through which national plans and strategies have been developed;
Costs and budgetary framework for the strategy;
Implementation and management arrangements;
Monitoring, evaluation and review mechanisms.

The benefits of JANS therefore include better quality of national strategies and greater partner confidence in those strategies. This contributes to securing more predictable and better aligned funding. This is an important element considering the multitude of Mozambique’s donors and implementing partners. 

The inclusion of multiple partners in a joint assessment is also expected to reduce transaction costs associated with separate assessment processes.

The JANS can be seen as a quality control. However, is JANS is not a yes/no recommendation for funding. The experts will assess the strengths and weaknesses of the PESS and provide a list of recommendations to the Ministry of Health.