Health Programmes Management: Performance-based Funding Approach

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Health Programmes Management: Performance-based funding Approach Michel ODIKA

Necessity for mapping and tracking resources…

To date, many countries still need to strengthen the use of strategic information1 to identify the financial resources they already have, so that they can estimate where money is required. In this purpose, software programs are developed around the world to address this specific problem. Among other tasks, those programs provide the platform for a database to support monitoring and evaluation. More specifically, they provide countries with the ability to store and analyze key indicators, projects and research data, and, not least, to exchange data with those from other systems…

Overview of the challenge…

The flow of limited financial resources should (be managed in ways that they) go to where they are most needed. Subsequently, there is crucial need for promoting Global Funds assigned to managing the flow of grants by using the results achieved by grant-supported programmes, predominantly in countries classified as low-income. For instance, those Global Funds can be helpful in using performance-based funding to hold programmes to the commitments made in their proposals. It should also be noted that successful achievement of results improves the capacities of financing. For example, programmes that perform well can be given money at an accelerated rate, while those that perform poorly must be given money at a slower rate and may even be given less, so unused money can be transferred to better performing programmes. Special circumstances are taken into consideration at each stage, as are self-assessments that identify requirements for more technical assistance. In general, however, the flow of funding is determined by the speed of implementation and proven results. Performance-based funding has two core requirements: 2 3 monitoring/evaluation and transparency . Interestingly, some countries 1. Michel ODIKA, Health information systems: challenges and perspectives (http://www.pdfcoke.com/doc/16952496/Health-Information-Systems-Challenges-and-Perspectives). 2. Monitoring and Evaluation primarily consist in harmonizing activities across countries by, for example, creating standardized indicators, promoting the use of particular methods and developing training modules.

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are proving that performance-based funding works. In the course of doing so, countries labelled as low-income are just as successful as others, as long as results are measured against strategies and targets they set themselves, and as long as grants cover needs for technical assistance they identify themselves. In several countries, ultimately, performancebased funding proves to be providing crucial incentives to accelerate implementation… References 1. Shakow A (2006). Global Fund – World Bank HIV/AIDS programs: comparative advantage study. Geneva and Washington, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the World Bank. 2. Tobias R (2005). Coming together to support national strategies. Statement to the high level forum on the global response to AIDS: making the money work – the “Three Ones” in action, London, 9 March 2005. 3. United Nations (2002). Report of the international conference on financing for development, Monterrey, Mexico. 18-22 March 2002. New York. Available at http://www.un.org/esa/ffdaconf198-11.

Doctor Michel ODIKA Contact e-mail: [email protected]

3. Transparency ensures that information on grant implementation can be used by decision-makers at all levels everywhere, whether engaged as partners in grant-supported programmes or as interested observers from within or outside the countries where the programmes are based.