Welcome to the USAID-funded Health Policy Plus (HP+) project website.
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As cases of COVID-19 continue to rise dramatically in Central America, HP+ is supporting the Honduran government to create a Ventilator Task Force to optimize distribution and use of donated ventilators for the most severe cases. Working with the USAID-funded EpiC project and other key stakeholders, the task force is launching a rapid assessment of ventilator readiness across the country’s major health facilities. The donated ventilators—anticipated to be as many as 300 from the U.S. Government alone—could almost double the current number of ventilators present in public sector facilities, saving countless lives in the midst of an unprecedented pandemic. Get more details in our news article.
In March, HP+ conducted a strategic planning and business viability assessment for SijariEMAS Teknologi Inovasi (PT STI)—an information and communication technology private sector start-up focused on improving health sector referrals for pregnant mothers and newborns in Indonesia—using an adaptation of Palladium’s Strategy Execution Bootcamp. As a result of the assessment, the start-up was able to successfully identify key areas to strengthen. HP+ will continue to support PT STI to make strategic adjustments regarding scale-up and expansion of the referral network to new districts, improve marketing and pricing strategies, streamline procurement and contracting processes, and diversify resources.
An original article authored by HP+ in coordination with a research team at Cambodia’s Ministry of Economy and Finance’s General Secretariat for the National Social Protection Council was published in the International Social Security Review. The research, which assesses current coverage potential, gaps, and social equity considerations with regard to the expansion of social health protection in Cambodia, is being used to inform a comprehensive policy proposal to expand coverage to about 5.7 million financially vulnerable people, improve healthcare quality, and strengthen institutional systems within Cambodia.
HP+ worked with Uganda-based Samasha Medical Foundation to scale-up its Motion Tracker—a locally-produced, civil society led tool that strengthens accountability and helps countries make progress toward their FP2020 commitments. HP+ supported its scale up from Uganda to Tanzania and Zambia, which resulted in broader community and stakeholder involvement and stronger FP2020 commitments in both countries that can be tracked and monitored. HP+’s work with Samasha helped cement the Motion Tracker as a sustainable, locally-grown approach to strengthening self-reliance and joint accountability, with Samasha receiving additional funding from the World Health Organization and the New Venture Fund to continue their work in Uganda, Zambia, and Tanzania, and further expand to Nigeria.
The government of Mauritania, on International Women’s Day (March 8, 2018), signed a regulatory decree to implement a new reproductive health law in focus counties. The law was originally passed in January 2017. With the signing of this new regulatory guidance, there is now approval for community health workers to provide birth control pills and injectables. Nurses are now allowed to provide IUDs and implants. This policy advance, which promises to bring efficiency and scale to contraceptive use, comes as a result of advocacy efforts led by USAID and supported by the HP+, FP2020, AgirPF, Stop Sida, UNFPA, and local partners.
In June, the USAID-funded Health Policy Plus (HP+) project collaborated with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s TSU Nigeria project to test a new model that projects the potential public health impact, costs and benefits of introducing and scaling up DMPA-SC (or “Sayana Press”). Nigeria is in the process of developing its strategy for Sayana Press scale up, with the BMGF TSU project providing technical assistance. This served as an ideal opportunity to apply the model with these stakeholders and the results will inform and be included their strategy, expected final in late July. The model was developed by Palladium and Avenir staff. PATH, one of the lead organizations spearheading Sayana Press research and scale up in several countries, was at the model application workshop in Nigeria. PATH had contributed data to the model development over the past year, but this was their first time seeing the model in action. Soon after the meeting, PATH staff requested a call with HP+ to go over the model in more detail and discuss how it could potentially be applied in other countries where PATH is working on scale up. This initial meeting is tentatively scheduled for July 12th or 13th. HP+ is also in discussions with UNFPA Cameroon to apply this model there in August or September.
Full implementation of the Task Sharing Policy and Funding for Family Planning Costed Implementation Plan (CIP) in all States were among the key issues Family Planning Advocates identified as priorities that need urgent attention to scale up access to voluntary safe and quality Family Planning services in Nigeria. These issues were addressed earlier this month when the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) and the USAID-funded Health Policy Plus (HP+) project hosted a high-level Family Planning (FP) Advocates’ workshop in Abuja that highlighted the urgency and importance of Nigeria’s investment in expanding coverage and uptake of FP services. The event brought together prominent Nigerians from a wide variety of backgrounds to explore the challenges facing Family Planning and to commit to specific actions advocating for increased resources for FP intervention. Participants included religious leaders, elected officials, journalists, and leaders of business associations. Budget allocation; donor dependence; state-level service delivery; and data generation and management were identified as key advocacy issues to prioritize moving forward.
Kenya’s free maternity care program was first introduced in 2013. Since then, facility deliveries rose from 44 percent before the policy was in place to 66 percent in FY 2012/13. The maternal death rate also declined by 7.9 percent. After several months of intensive work, Kenya has launched Linda Mama—a revamped free maternity services program that expands the types of services available to mothers and babies and access. The program will be offered at all public health facilities and a combined 2,700 private sector and faith-based facilities. USAID, through the Health Policy Plus project, supported Kenya’s Ministry of Health and National Health Insurance Fund to redesign the program; cost the program’s benefits package; determine the resources required for implementation; ensure adequate government allocations; inform the program’s reimbursement rates; and prepare technical, implementation, and funding policy documents. The new program will reach an estimated 700,000 women each year.