Health Sector Resource Mapping in Malawi: Sharing the Collection and Use of Budget Data for Evidence-Based Decision Making

Yoon, Ian; Twea, Pakwanja; Heung, Stephanie; Mohan, Sakshi; Mandalia, Nikhil; Razzaq, Saadiya; Berman, Leslie; Brady, Eoghan; Gunda, Andrews; Manthalu, Gerald

doi:10.9745/ghsp-d-21-00232

Cited by 2 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 5 publications

(4 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The first is annual Resource Mapping (RM) exercises, implemented by the MoH since 2011, which collect and consolidate standardized budget and expenditure data across an estimated 166 financing sources and 265 implementing partners in the health sector ( Government of the Republic of Malawi, 2022b ). This provides the government visibility into total funding for health over time, disaggregated by financing source, implementing agent, disease areas, geography, cost inputs and alignment to national strategic plans, ( Yoon et al. , 2021 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…RM results are integrated into the national MoH budgeting processes and provide MoH departments with visibility into complementary partner funding streams. Data collection for the RM exercise is also harmonized with the WHO’s NHAs and National AIDS Spending Assessment (NASA) to ensure efficiencies in resource tracking ( Yoon et al , 2021 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Leveraging this data, the COVID-19 response team used a live COVID-19 RM dashboard to mobilize and coordinate funding against gaps in the National COVID-19 Plan ( Figure 4 ). The District Health Management Teams from all 29 districts also developed COVID-19 activities, which were prioritized and integrated into their DIPs alongside funding information for essential health services ( Yoon et al. , 2021 ).…”

Section: Achievements/challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This can be addressed through closer integration with retrospective expenditure tracking exercises such as NHAs. The Malawi MoH has therefore championed harmonized data collection and data analysis for RM, NHA, and NASA since 2019 ( Yoon et al. , 2021 ).…”

Section: Achievements/challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Donor coordination to support universal health coverage in Malawi

Sharma,

Heung,

Twea

et al. 2024

Health Policy and Planning

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Development assistance is a major source of financing for health in least developed countries. However, persistent aid fragmentation has led to inefficiencies and health inequities and constrained progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Malawi is a case study for this global challenge, with 55% of total health expenditure funded by donors and fragmentation across 166 financing sources and 265 implementing partners. This often leads to poor coordination and misalignment between government priorities and donor projects. To address these challenges, the Malawi Ministry of Health (MoH) has developed and implemented an architecture of aid coordination tools and processes. Using a case study approach, we documented the iterative development, implementation and institutionalization of these tools, which was led by the MoH with technical assistance from the Clinton Health Access Initiative. We reviewed the grey literature, including relevant policy documents, planning tools and databases of government/partner funding commitments, and drew upon the authors’ experiences in designing, implementing and scaling up these tools. Overall, the iterative use and revision of these tools by the Government of Malawi across the national and subnational levels, including integration with the government’s public financial management system, was critical to successful uptake. The tools are used to inform government and partner resource allocation decisions, assess financing and gaps for national and district plans and inform donor grant applications. As Malawi has launched the Health Sector Strategic Plan 2023–2030, these tools are being adapted for the ‘One Plan, One Budget and One Report’ approach. However, while the tools are an incremental mechanism to strengthen aid alignment, success has been constrained by the larger context of power imbalances and misaligned incentives between the donor community and the Government of Malawi. Reform of the aid architecture is therefore critical to ensure that these tools achieve maximum impact in Malawi’s journey towards UHC.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Achievements/challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Achievements/challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Donor coordination to support universal health coverage in Malawi

Sharma,

Heung,

Twea

et al. 2024

Health Policy and Planning

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For example, in the most recent resource-mapping exercise in Malawi, 185 sources of funding were identified, which flowed through 226 implementing agents. 9 Existing approaches to routine monitoring that are tied to specific development projects and global health initiatives may not be meaningful for EPHS M&E.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring and evaluating the implementation of essential packages of health services

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Essential packages of health services (EPHS) are a critical tool for achieving universal health coverage, especially in low-income and lower middle-income countries. However, there is a lack of guidance and standards for monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of EPHS implementation. This paper is the final in a series of papers reviewing experiences using evidence from the Disease Control Priorities, third edition publications in EPHS reforms in seven countries. We assess current approaches to EPHS M&E, including case studies of M&E approaches in Ethiopia and Pakistan. We propose a step-by-step process for developing a national EPHS M&E framework. Such a framework would start with a theory of change that links to the specific health system reforms the EPHS is trying to accomplish, including explicit statements about the ‘what’ and ‘for whom’ of M&E efforts. Monitoring frameworks need to consider the additional demands that could be placed on weak and already overstretched data systems, and they must ensure that processes are put in place to act quickly on emergent implementation challenges. Evaluation frameworks could learn from the field of implementation science; for example, by adapting the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance framework to policy implementation. While each country will need to develop its own locally relevant M&E indicators, we encourage all countries to include a set of core indicators that are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goal 3 targets and indicators. Our paper concludes with a call to reprioritise M&E more generally and to use the EPHS process as an opportunity for strengthening national health information systems. We call for an international learning network on EPHS M&E to generate new evidence and exchange best practices.

show abstract

Health Sector Resource Mapping in Malawi: Sharing the Collection and Use of Budget Data for Evidence-Based Decision Making

Cited by 2 publications

References 5 publications

Donor coordination to support universal health coverage in Malawi

Donor coordination to support universal health coverage in Malawi

Monitoring and evaluating the implementation of essential packages of health services

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About