USAID|RHSS Quarterly Progress Report

The new Agreement aims to enhance the resiliency of the Rwandan health sector to address new challenges and help build a country-owned sustainable health system capable of leading and managing change. The RHSSA will provide extensive technical support across five Intermediate Results: institutionalized health systems thinking, improved policy, planning, and implementation, increased revenue for the health sector, improved quality of health services, and greater efficiency in resource use, and improved M&E, health systems research, learning, and knowledge-based practices. The RHSSA started officially on November 17th, 2014, and its overall goal is to achieve strengthened and expanded performance of the Rwandan health system at national, decentralized, and community levels. The project has five strategic or intermediate results, including institutionalized health systems thinking approaches and practices, improved multi-level GOR policy, planning, and implementation capacity, increased revenue mobilized by the health sector, improved and expanded quality health services, and improved M&E, health systems research, learning, and knowledge-based practices. During the first quarter of RHSSA implementation, most attention was focused on closing out activities, reports, and administrative requirements of the Integrated Health Systems Strengthening Project (IHSSP). Key activities completed under RHSSA during this reporting period include the elaboration of new employee contracts, establishment of budget and activity codes, signing of interim sub-contractor agreements with new partners, preliminary meetings with USAID to agree on the first year planning process, a 'contract reading' with the USAID Agreement Officer and Agreement Officer's Representative, and other administrative tasks. RHSSA staff maintained their relations and dialogue with Ministry of Health, Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC), and Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB) counterparts and provided informal orientation to them about the new Agreement. The RHSSA counts 33 staff, categorized as follows: Chief of Party, Director of finance and operations, Team Leaders (senior advisors), other technical staff, local finance and operations staff, and drivers. The RHSSA will address the specific challenges laid out in the Cooperative Agreement by signing sub-agreements with key subcontractors. These subcontractors include Banyan Global, Jembi Health Systems, National University of Rwanda, School of Public Health, and Tulane University School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine. The RHSSA will work closely with these partners to achieve its goals and objectives. The RHSSA will also focus on improving the quality of health services through more effective and efficient use of existing resources in the health system, achieving better value for money. This will be achieved through the implementation of the five intermediate results, which will lead to improved health outcomes for the Rwandan population. The RHSSA will work closely with the Ministry of Health, Rwanda Biomedical Center, and Rwanda Social Security Board to achieve its goals and objectives. The project will also maintain its relations and dialogue with these counterparts and provide informal orientation to them about the new Agreement. The RHSSA will provide extensive technical support to the Rwandan health sector, focusing on institutionalized health systems thinking, improved policy, planning, and implementation, increased revenue for the health sector, improved quality of health services, and greater efficiency in resource use, and improved M&E, health systems research, learning, and knowledge-based practices. The project will work closely with its partners and counterparts to achieve its goals and objectives, leading to improved health outcomes for the Rwandan population.