Fact Sheet: Primary Health Care Project Iraq (PHCPI)

This will be achieved through the establishment of effective management and leadership systems, facilitating the delivery of more accessible and sustainable quality health services. Building on the Government of Iraq's Strategic Framework for 2009-2014, the USAID/PHCPI team will usher in systemic changes to help the Ministry of Health (MoH) institutionalize new management policies and systems to improve PHC clinic performance. To improve primary healthcare management systems, USAID/PHCPI will foster PHC governance at the national level by working with the MoH to establish a Technical Advisory Group (TAG). The TAG will comprise national experts who will strengthen PHC in Iraq by developing critical management policies that support systems to improve PHC service delivery outcomes. USAID/PHCPI will also champion the modernization of guidelines regarding the management of operations such as pharmaceuticals, labs, and equipment. Additionally, the QI teams will disseminate best practices and lessons learned to improve governance of PHC clinics, scaling up improvements beyond PHCPI's 360 targeted clinics. USAID/PHCPI will strengthen PHC management by developing a Handbook of Quality Standards and Operational Guidelines for the management of Primary Health Care Clinics. The Handbook will be a simple, practical tool to help clinic staff assess, strengthen, monitor, and improve compliance with the standards and guidelines. The handbook standards will address various management topics, including organization and leadership, client care, clinic safety, clinic support services, operational management, facility management, management of information, community, and quality improvement. USAID/PHCPI will support the training of MoH trainers in supervision of the handbook amongst the targeted 360 participating clinics. USAID/PHCPI will also develop a PHC Leadership and Management training program in collaboration with the MoH. The Leadership Training program will build on the various materials developed within the MoH and will be linked to the concepts and quality standards described in the Management Handbook. Furthermore, USAID/PHCPI will work with the MoH to standardize the PHC clinic's patient records systems, implementing comprehensive and efficient information tracking methods to maintain quality continuity of care for patients. This system will easily feed into the national Health Management Information System (HMIS) to decrease information tracking burden and improve functionality of the PHC system to understand and respond to patient service needs based on up-to-date utilization and outcome information. The PHCPI Component 1 aims to demonstrate the value of key strategic management interventions linking management systems improvements to enhanced health outcomes. By strengthening PHC management systems, improving PHC governance, and developing a PHC Leadership and Management training program, USAID/PHCPI will contribute to the improvement of PHC service delivery outcomes in Iraq.