The Challenge
Despite significant improvements in maternal and child health indicators, Haiti continues to struggle with low and unequitable access to lifesaving services. National spending on health has been critically low and shrinking, with heavy reliance on external aid. However, the fragmentation and lack of coordination of external aid has limited the ability of the government to effectively deliver essential health and nutrition services and achieve long-lasting positive outcomes.
The GFF Partnership Response
The GFF partnership supports the government through the country platform to improve donor coordination and enhance aid effectiveness. The GFF partnerships’ focus to build a strong country platform and develop an Investment Case has created an important momentum for aligning all stakeholders and linking existing strategies around a common plan to scale up primary health care service delivery and utilization. As part of the priorities outlined in the Investment Case, the GFF is leveraging partnerships both within government and externally to improve the national supply and distribution system for medical commodities to ensure continuous availability and accessibility to essential medicines at each health service delivery point across the country. The GFF is also co-financing US$15 million to support the World Bank’s Strengthening Primary Health Care and Surveillance in Haiti that focuses on improving primary health care service delivery and expanding the country’s cholera surveillance system to include other infectious diseases and maternal mortality.
Progress
Haiti has been making notable progress in the development of its investment case since the launch of the GFF process in April 2019. The Ministry of Health’s Unit for External Cooperation is in the processes of launching a resource mapping exercise that will feed into the investment case process. Evidence-based planning is being further supported through data analysis from recent Demographic Health and Service Provision surveys to inform setting health and nutrition priorities in the investment case. Progress has also been made on community health, with the development of a new national strategy for community health, revision of community health worker guides and job aids.