Health policy dialogue: experiences from Africa

Excerpt

The high volume of investments in health seen in Africa over the last decade, mainly through global health initiatives [1], has enabled significant improvements in some health indicators in many of the countries [2]. However, these gains have not always translated into sustained improvements in the health sector’s capacity or health system’s performance [3]. Countries in the World Health Organization African Region continue to face serious challenges among which are major inadequacies in the health workforce, low levels of health spending with significant out of pocket payments, weak procurement and supply systems, poor information and monitoring systems, [4] and weak community engagement [5]. The 2014–2016 Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa illustrated the importance of a functional health system in sustaining health service delivery and economic and social development amidst a crisis [6, 7]. Weaknesses in health sectors’ organisation and governance continue to undermine the efficiency of health service delivery [8]. …