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Plain textHeads To Roll As National Health Accounts Probe Takes Off
The Ministry of Health has commissioned a study into the National Health Accounts (NHA), a tool designed to assist policy makers to understand the health systems and to improve performance in the limping sector, Chimpreports.com reveals.
The Director General of Health Services Jane Ruth Aceng says the study is aimed at providing evidence to help Government and non-governmental policy-makers to make better decisions to improve health system performance.
“The National Health Accounts provides evidence to monitor trends in health spending for the Health sector including public and private, different health care activities, providers, diseases, population groups and regions in a country,” says Aceng.
“It also helps in developing national strategies for effective health financing and in raising additional funds for health. Information provided in National Health Accounts can be used to make financial projections of a country’s health system requirements and compare their own experiences with the past or with those of other countries,” says Aceng.
The timing of the massive audit is very interesting considering that billions of funds have lately been lost in drug theft and total plunder of resources at the Ministry.
Informed sources say heads are expected to roll.
President Yoweri Museveni has on several occasions warned that corruption in the health sector would soon be stamped out.
Observers say corruption is one of the main reasons why the health sector has been limping for decades.
However, Aceng notes the study is in fulfillment of the Government’s commitment to the agenda of institutionalisation of the National Health Accounts as enshrined in the global strategic framework signed with the World Bank, World Health Organization and other development partners.
“The Ministry of Health recognise the importance of availability of quality data on health financing as a strategy for developing good financing strategies.
This is the 4th time that the Ministry is undertaking this study. The first comprehensive National Health Accounts study covered the fiscal year 1997/98 while the second study covered the period 1999/00. The third round of NHA was carried in 2006/07,” says Aceng.
This study also comes up now at a time when there is more than ever a growing need to track resource allocation to the health sector and to achieve transparency, equity and efficiency in health spending.
“The objective of this study is to track the amount and flows of financial resources into the health system in Uganda in financial year 2008/09 and 2009/10 and to respond to key policy questions in the health sector,” clarifies Aceng.
“This study will provide a clear picture of the health financing environment in Uganda,” she notes.
Aceng says the investigation targets both private and public institutions covering Government Ministries, Local Governments, Private health insurance firms, Donors, Private firms and health providers.
“The Uganda Bureau of statistics will provide information on house hold expenditure on Health care based on the National House hold surveys. The survey estimated to cost $423,000 will be completed within 12 months,” says Aceng.
The probe is funded by the Ministry of Health with support from the East, Central and South Africa Health Community, USAID, UNICEF , UNFPA-Uganda and other development partners
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Updated on 2013-05-09 09:25 |
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