Celebrating Five Years of Stronger Health Systems: USAID's Integrated Health System Strengthening Project

Speeches Shim

Since 2009,  the United States Agency for International Development's (USAID) has worked with Rwanda's Ministry of Health to invest in measures to strengthen and sustain Rwanda’s health system through its Integrated Health System Strengthening Project. The $24.8 million project – partially supported by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief – worked to improve access for all Rwandans to quality and efficiently managed health services.  With the project closing in December 2014, this video celebrates the project's major accomplishments of the last five years through the collaboration of USAID, the Ministry of Health, and implementing partner Management Sciences for Health.

IHSSP has worked closely with the Ministry of Health to improve the health system in five key areas: health information, health financing, human resources, service quality, and structures for decentralization. These objectives have been met in a variety of ways including:

  • The nationwide implementation of a new health information system – Rwanda-HMIS – which collects data from over 700 public and private health facilities at all levels of the health system, and makes information available for more accurate decision-making
  • The roll-out of Rapid SMS (in collaboration with UNICEF), a cell phone-based information system that Rwanda’s community health workers use for reporting and for monitoring pregnant women and their babies to ensure healthy pregnancies, births, and newborns
  • The development and implementation of community based health insurance, or “mutuelle de santé”, which reached nearly 91 percent of Rwandans, with a focus on the most vulnerable,. The plan makes Rwanda one of the most highly insured countries on the continent – giving Rwandans more equitable access to health care and helping finance the country’s health system
  • The beginning of the accreditation process for Rwanda’s hospitals to ensure they meet international standards, with a rigorous process that looks at areas including infrastructure, protocols, and staffing.  Currently, Rwanda’s five provincial hospitals are moving through the process, and nearly 40 facilitators have been trained to facilitate the process using the Rwanda Essential Hospital Accreditation Standards, also developed by the project
  • USAID introduced an objective, internationally recognized method for assessing and quantifying the human resource needs in health facilities. The system calculates the workload deficit and surplus at each facility, and will guide adjustments in the deployment of health professional at health facilities and guide national workforce planning. So far, the method has been applied in 42 hospitals and 460 health centers, and the Ministry has the skills and tools to complete it in others.

In addition to these accomplishments, the project has worked with the Ministry of Health to develop sound policies, guidance, and strategies in each of its five key areas of work. These policies will help to guide the Ministry and other related government entities to continue to make positive improvements in these areas over the coming years.

Video Transcript 

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