PROJECT UPDATES

HSCL is a Technical Service Organisation (TSO) to Management Sciences for Health (MSH), for the implementation of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria’s (GFATM), Resilient and Sustainable Systems for Health (RSSH) Catalytic Health System Investment Programme. Through this grant, HSCL provides technical assistance to strengthen the health systems capacities of Imo, Kaduna and Oyo states.

The technical support is focused on three key areas of support: health insurance schemes, public financial management and human resources for health.

 

Support for State Health Insurance Schemes in Imo, Kaduna, and Oyo States

HSCL is providing support to the three states for the roll-out of their state social health insurance schemes and improving readiness for the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF). This complements the support provided to these states by other donors such as the BMGF, WHO, and others. Key support areas have included:

• Improving Capacity for Health Insurance and Claims Management
  HSCL led the conduct of staff capacity assessments for Imo and Oyo States’ health insurance agencies which informed the development of a tailored training curriculum to address noted gaps. This curriculum was used to train 18 staff in Oyo State and 25 in Imo State on claims management and health insurance operations.
• Integration of HIV and TB in Kaduna State’s Benefit Package
  HSCL is currently conducting an actuarial study to determine the additional cost of incorporating HIV and TB services into the Kaduna State’s benefit package. These services are currently mostly donor funded and provided free through vertical programs. This is a sustainability initiative in preparation for a transition from vertical donor funded programmes to service access through health insurance. The output of the actuarial study will guide the development and implementation of a realistic integration plan.
• Basic Health Care Provision Fund Readiness
  To access the BHCPF, states are required to among other conditions, train health workers and members of the Ward Development Committees (WDCs) on BHCPF operational principles and guidelines. To have an in-state critical mass of trainers, HSCL supported the BHCPF Training of 64 Trainers in Oyo State. Plans are already under-way to cascade the training to health facilities in all 351 wards of the State.

Human Resources for Health

Through the GFATM RSSH grant, HSCL is working as a TSO to MSH to support the strengthening of human resources for health (HRH) systems in Kaduna and Oyo states. Key milestones include:

• Redesigning Health Care Worker Trainings for Effectiveness
  Health workers from the community to the service delivery points carry out their duties in teams and there is a need for coherence and consistency in the approach to service delivery by each health worker. HSCL worked with the State Primary Health Care Development Agency (SPHCDA) and State Ministry of Health (SMOH) in Kaduna state to institute an interdisciplinary platform for the training of health workers in the state. The platform focuses on designing cross-cutting trainings for all types of health workers. This ensures that for every disease entity being addressed by the trainings, all health workers get trained on both their individual roles and their roles in working as a team.
  In Oyo State, the Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs) were found to receive minimal trainings after school and so were a much-neglected cadre. HSCL worked with the State Primary Health Care Board (SPHCB) to design a refresher training curriculum for CHEWS in all wards in the state.
• Improving HRH Management
  HSCL conducted a review of the existing HRH management systems in the states and benchmarked them using the WHO minimum standard for Health Workforce Registries and the ICSO -08 recommendations. The HRH management systems required significant improvements to align with the benchmarks. HSCL is working with the health ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) in the states to redesign their HRH Information Management Systems to ensure that all health workers are effectively captured, tracked, and accounted for within the system

Public Financial Management

As part of its TSO roles under the GFATM RSSH grant, HSCL is providing technical assistance to Kaduna and Oyo states to strengthen their public financial management systems (PFMS) for health. This includes strengthening financial management systems at the Local Government Area (LGA) & primary health care levels; strengthening capacity for public expenditure tracking; developing and deploying advocacy materials for evidence-based spending on health.

• Establishment of Health Sector Planning Cell
  HSCL facilitated the establishment of a Health Sector Planning Cell for Oyo state which is led by the Director Department of Health Planning Research and Statistics (DHPRS) of the State’s Ministry of Health. The planning cell is charged with the responsibility of developing Annual Operational Plans (AOP), supporting the budgeting processes in the state including budget formulation, budget execution, and budget monitoring. HSCL provided technical support for the development of the terms of reference (ToR) and finalization of the membership. The planning cell was inaugurated by the Hon. Commissioner for Health, Dr. B. V. A. Bello on the 12th of March.
• Capacity Building on Financial Management Systems & Tools
  Part of HSCL’s support to Kaduna state included training of relevant stakeholders on Budget and Treasury Management Information System (BATMIS 7), International Public Sector Accounting Systems (IPSAS), and advanced Microsoft Excel. These trainings aimed at improving the knowledge and skills needed for Finance Officers and Accountants to perform their jobs more competently. Participants were drawn from the State Ministry of Health, State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Kaduna State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency, Ministry of Finance, and Kaduna State Health Supply Management Agency.