Quarterly Report for the Health System Strengthening Component

The Development Objective of the Program is to improve the health status of the Senegalese population through three intermediate results: increased use of an integrated package of quality health services, improved health seeking and healthy behaviors, and improved performance of the health system. The main objective of the H2S Component is to improve the performance of the decentralized public health system supported by effective and efficient policies, planning, and budgeting at the central level of the Ministry of Health. The H2S Component will contribute to the realization of Intermediate Result 3 through improved management of district and regional health teams and improved health system performance through development and implementation of national level policies. USAID/Senegal signed a contract with Abt Associates Inc. to serve as the implementing agency of the H2S Component. Abt Associates put up a multi-disciplinary team of Senegalese experts, Senegalese organizations, and international sub-contractors with long and valuable experience to implement the H2S Component. Several actions were accomplished to ensure the establishment of the Abt team during the first quarter. Key personnel of the Abt team have been in place since November 2011, and contracts of additional technical staff of regional offices are currently being prepared. Sub-contractor agreements were signed in December 2011 following letters of agreement on the basis of which they were temporarily mobilized from October to December 2011. Setting up of the national office and regional bureaus of the USAID Health Program is well advanced, with the national offices of the AIRS and H2S projects located within the same premises and sharing basic support functions. A team-building workshop was organized to help Abt team members and strategic MOH partners gain a common understanding of the H2S Component and of the USAID/Senegal Health Program. The roles and responsibilities of Abt team members in the implementation of the H2S Component were identified, and the Component coordinated the preparatory activities and the organization of the ceremony to launch the USAID/Senegal 2011-2016 Health Program. An indicative program defining the strategies, interventions, and milestones towards the attainment of the expected results of the H2S over the five-year period was developed, and the first annual action plan (2012) of the H2S Component was developed with the participation of MOH partners at the central and regional levels and submitted to USAID/Senegal. Implementation of the first annual action plan has commenced, and progress has been noted towards reaching milestones of Year 1. Under the "Management and health systems at the local level" sub-component, the Component provided technical and financial support during regional workshops to consolidate annual work plans of health districts and medical regions. The procedures manual on Performance-Based Financing (PBF) and its appendices were finalized, and the agreement as well as the data collection tools for the PBF baseline study were developed. A guide to assess the training needs on administrative and financial management of medical regions and health districts was developed, and the preparation of a consensus on the procedures manual on PBF is ongoing. The Component has also made progress in the "Social financing mechanisms" sub-component, with the development of a guide to assess the training needs on social financing mechanisms for health districts and medical regions. The Component has also provided technical and financial support to the MOH to develop a national health policy and a strategic plan for the health sector. The Component has also coordinated the preparation of a consensus on the national health policy and the strategic plan for the health sector. The Component has also made progress in the "Coordination and monitoring" sub-component, with the development of a guide to assess the training needs on coordination and monitoring for health districts and medical regions. The Component has also provided technical and financial support to the MOH to develop a monitoring and evaluation system for the health sector. The Component has also coordinated the preparation of a consensus on the monitoring and evaluation system for the health sector. The Component has also made progress in the "National level health policies and systems" sub-component, with the development of a guide to assess the training needs on national level health policies and systems for health districts and medical regions. The Component has also provided technical and financial support to the MOH to develop a national health policy and a strategic plan for the health sector. The Component has also coordinated the preparation of a consensus on the national health policy and the strategic plan for the health sector. The Component has also made progress in the "