USAID/Tanzania Public Sector Systems Strengthening Plus | Success Story

The program pools resources from international development agencies to ensure equitable access to health services for Tanzanians, particularly those living in rural areas. Eighty percent of the population resides in rural areas, and the program's decentralized system saves lives by distributing medical supplies and equipment to facilities in 185 Local Government Authorities. Prior to the implementation of an automated system, the national government manually calculated Health Sector Basket funding allocations for each facility using a spreadsheet. This process demanded advanced proficiency with spreadsheet software, which most administrators lacked, resulting in frequent errors. Additionally, large files often exceeded the software's capacity, leading to difficulties in obtaining results quickly and causing late disbursement of funds. The manual calculation process was time-consuming, requiring thousands of hours of staff time that could be better spent on priority health facility activities. In January 2021, the Tanzanian government introduced an automated system called PlanRep to allocate Health Sector Basket funding to health facilities. PlanRep uses a formula designed by USAID's PS3+ activity and the President's Office, Regional Administration and Local Government (PORALG) that pulls data from the national District Health Information System (DHIS2). The formula takes into account various factors, including catchment population, outpatient attendance, and availability of standard medicines. PlanRep also allocates extra funding to facilities performing well and those furthest from district headquarters. The automated system has simplified the process of allocating Health Sector Basket funding, freeing up thousands of hours of staff time to focus on priority health facility activities. PlanRep is interoperable with national planning and management systems, enabling the Ministry of Finance and Planning to disburse quarterly funding directly to health facilities' bank accounts based on automatic calculations. The system has also reduced the time spent on data collection, as data is now pulled directly from DHIS2. The implementation of PlanRep has been praised by health officials, who note that the automation has simplified their work and saved time. Raymond Kiwesa, Direct Health Facility Financing Coordinator at PORALG, stated that the automation has brought fair results to health facilities and reduced bias in the allocation process. The automated system has furthered the original life-saving mission of the Health Sector Basket program, ensuring that rural communities have equitable access to essential medical services.