The Next Frontier to Support Health Resource Tracking

Country governments and partners, including USAID, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, GAVI, and the Global Fund, have invested significantly in strengthening the production and use of HRT data in low- and middle-income countries over the past three decades. The objective of these investments has been to institutionalize HRT, enabling countries to conduct HRT exercises quickly and regularly, and to use the data to inform decision-making. Institutionalizing HRT requires three key elements: strong and consistent demand for the data, sustainable local capacity to conduct HRT exercises, and use of the HRT results in countries' policy- and decision-making processes. Despite progress, challenges remain in building demand for HRT data, maintaining local capacity to produce HRT, and using HRT results in policy-making. Building demand for HRT data involves creating an environment of evidence-based decision-making. This can be achieved by documenting and disseminating examples of countries' effective use of HRT data, establishing a local organization to support evidence-based decision-making, and providing institutional support for HRT. Enhancing stakeholders' understanding of the value of HRT data is also crucial, as is establishing a local organization to support evidence-based decision-making. Maintaining local capacity to produce HRT requires addressing staff turnover and weak health and financial information systems. This can be achieved by increasing the pool of HRT experts in a country, providing technical resources and guidance documents for local HRT teams, and promoting peer-learning, peer-technical assistance, and networking. Improving local health and financial information systems is also essential, including promoting data-sharing among existing data collection efforts, supporting the inclusion of expenditure data in existing health information systems, and embedding data collection mechanisms for non-government spending into existing reporting mechanisms. Using HRT results in policy-making requires addressing challenges such as insufficient in-country technical capacity to conduct targeted analyses, technical capacity to translate health spending data into user-friendly information, and a shortage of examples of successful HRT data use. Building in-country HRT technicians' capacity to conduct tailored health financing analyses and produce findings most relevant to policymakers' priority issues and questions is essential. Strengthening in-country HRT technicians' ability to strategically and effectively communicate HRT results widely is also crucial, as is establishing institutional structures with a mandate to produce tailored results for policymaking. The next frontier for supporting HRT is through routine information systems and the governance structures that demand and use HRT data. This requires investing in making production of HRT and other health systems data more regular, timely, accurate, and cost-effective. By addressing the remaining challenges and opportunities related to demand, production, and use of HRT data, countries can institutionalize HRT and improve health system financing and performance.