THE GLOBAL FINANCING FACILITY’S CONTRIBUTION TO IMPROVING HEALTH FINANCING AND HEALTH OUTCOMES IN ETHIOPIA

by Yuka Shimamura, Global Advocacy Officer, Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns, Save the Children Japan

According to the report printed by the World Bank and World Health Organization (WHO), almost half of the world’s vulnerable population including women, children, and adolescents did not have access to essential and quality health services on the level of 2021. THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2023 estimates that 287,000 girls died from pregnancy-related causes in 2020 and 5 million kids beneath 5 misplaced their lives in 2021 worldwide. Majority of those deaths are attributable to preventable causes. Halting preventable deaths amongst kids and different susceptible teams requires growing funding in Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition (RMNCAH-N) providers. It is important that we construct equitable, resilient, and inclusive well being techniques and well being financing techniques that may ship high quality well being providers for all.

SUSTAINABLE APPROACHES TO STRENGTHEN EXISITING HEALTH SYSTEMS

At a time of rising fragmentation, restricted fiscal house, and better demand for well being care, governments should be supported to enhance self-sufficiency, and unleash extra assets past the greenback worth dedicated by donors.

The Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents (GFF) is one step forward in delivering on this promise. The GFF, based in 2015, has been a key financing mechanism that addresses well being inequities and enhance entry to healthcare for ladies, kids, and adolescents by strengthening well being techniques. The GFF goals to stop 3.8 million maternal deaths, 101 million little one deaths, and 21 million stillbirths in high-burden nations by 2030. The GFF works with nations to construct techniques capability, align funding behind a nationwide well being plan, and unlock insurance policies, techniques and financing that enhance well being. The GFF’s country-driven partnership method brings collectively stakeholders behind authorities priorities together with improvement companions, civil society organizations and the non-public sector. Importantly, the GFF’s country-driven mannequin helps governments in maximizing the impression of the investments through the use of home and exterior assets successfully and effectively.

Save the Children carried out an unbiased evaluation of the GFF to assessment its processes, successes, and challenges, utilizing Ethiopia as a case research. The report Sustainable Approaches to Strengthen Existing Health Systems: The Global Financing Facility’s Contribution to Improving Health Financing and Health Outcomes in Ethiopia discusses successes and what may be executed to additional strengthen well being techniques and progress in direction of attaining common well being protection – by the GFF, donor governments, and different Global Health Initiatives.

GFF investments in Ethiopia are channeled right into a pooled fund, managed by the Federal Government of Ethiopia. Working inside the nation’s system is essential for sustaining progress and outcomes. In addition, by good partnerships, similar to with the World Bank’s International Development Association[i], the GFF has leveraged a further 10 {dollars} for each greenback it offered in well being providers like reproductive, maternal, neonatal and little one well being. Efforts past simply the financing offered are additionally important in furthering effectivity and fairness beneficial properties, such because the technical assist that the GFF gives to the federal government to tell useful resource allocation choices and enhance nationwide planning and budgeting processes.

Our analysis discovered that the GFF’s nation pushed mannequin promotes effectivity and effectiveness in home and exterior useful resource use which reduces fragmentation, duplication of efforts and maximises worth for cash from assist spending.

In addition to decreasing preventable deaths of girls, newborns, kids, and adolescents, strengthening well being techniques, significantly main well being care (PHC) techniques, GFF additionally improves nations’ capability to organize for and reply to future well being emergencies.

INSIGHTS FROM THE GFF FOR IMPROVING EFFICIENCY AND AID EFFECTIVENESS

The GFF holds super potential to proceed making important strides in enhancing RMNCAH-N outcomes worldwide. As properly as constructing on successes in GFF programming to attain UHC, a chance presents itself at a time when important questions are being raised on the effectiveness of the present international well being structure, for sharing studying and good follow with others. Highlighted under, our analysis into the GFF mannequin has offered priceless insights that would assist others to enhance assist effectiveness in follow:

The GFF’s present Deliver the Future marketing campaign seeks to safe no less than US$800 million by the tip of 2023. This important funding will allow the GFF to mobilise a further US$20.5 billion to boost its impression. With this elevated monetary assist, the GFF intends to offer second-round financing to 27 present companion nations and lengthen its help to a further seven nations. This can also be a well timed alternative for the GFF to hone its scope, increase its scale, capitalize on beneficial properties made, mirror on classes learnt and supply examples of finest follow and fashions for different international well being initiatives.

INTERESTED IN READING THE FULL REPORT? DOWNLOAD IT HERE

[i] International Development Association (IDA) is an establishment established in 1960 because the a part of the World Bank. IDA’s goal is to scale back poverty by offering zero to low-interest loans, which is known as “credits” and grants for applications that promote the financial development, improve fairness, and enhance individuals’s high quality of life.

https://ida.worldbank.org/en/what-is-ida