Background Performance-based financing (PBF) is often proposed as a way to improve health system performance. In Benin, PBF was launched in 2012 through a World Bank-supported project. The Belgian Development Agency (BTC) followed suit through a health system strengthening (HSS) project. This paper analyses and draws lessons from the experience of BTC-supported PBF alternative approach – especi...

BACKGROUND A model health district was initiated through a program of health system strengthening (HSS) in Ifanadiana District of southeastern Madagascar in 2014. We report population health indicators prior to initiation of the program. METHODS A representative household survey based on the Demographic Health Survey was conducted using a two-stage cluster sampling design in two strata - the ...

The centrality of behavior change in health systems development T he Global Health: Science and Practice editorial, ''The 6 domains of behavior change: the missing health system building block,'' 1 serves as a welcome reminder of the pivotal role of behavior change in health systems development. Moreover, we agree that serious attention to health systems strengthening (HSS) and behavior change ...

BACKGROUND This paper argues that the global health agenda tends to privilege short-term global interests at the expense of long-term capacity building within national and community health systems. The Health Systems Strengthening (HSS) movement needs to focus on developing the capacity of local organizations and the institutions that influence how such organizations interact with local and int...

The $63 billion comprehensive global health initiative (GHI) emphasizes health systems strengthening (HSS) to tackle challenges, including child and maternal health, HIV/AIDS, family planning, and neglected tropical diseases. GHI and other initiatives are critical to fighting emerging and reemerging diseases in resource-poor countries. HSS is also an increasing focus of the $49 billion program ...

Background While health systems strengthening (HSS) interventions are recommended by global health policy experts to improve population health in resource-limited settings, few examples exist of evaluations of HSS interventions conducted at the district level. In 2009, a partnership between Partners In Health (PIH), a non-governmental organization, and the Rwandan Ministry of Health (RMOH) was ...

Background Under the Global Fund round 8 Grant, the Liberian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MoHSW) received funding for Health Systems Strengthening (HSS). This grant sought to contribute to scaling-up efforts to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria and related diseases. The overall goal was to address the health manpower needs at all levels of the health...

BACKGROUND While there is an extensive literature on Health System (HS) strengthening and on the performance of specific HSs, there are few exhaustive syntheses of the challenges HSs are facing worldwide. This paper reports the findings of a scoping review aiming to classify the challenges of HSs investigated in the scientific literature. Specifically, it determines the kind of research conduct...

Over the past decade, growing recognition that weak health systems threaten global health progress has galvanised renewed global and national commitment to strengthening health systems (Hafner & Shiffman, 2012). Global health leaders from the World Health Organization to the GAVI Alliance, national governments and donors today endorse the goal of health system strengthening (HSS), though there ...