Does Public Financial Management Save Life? Evidence from a Quantitative Review of PFM and Health Outcomes in Sub-Saharan African Countries.

Public financial management (PFM) theory suggests that improvements in the allocation, execution, and monitoring of public funds can result in improved sectoral outcomes, including in health. However, the existing literature on the relationship between PFM quality and health outcomes provides limited empirical documentation and insufficient explanation of the mechanics of that relationship. This paper contributes to the literature by estimating the correlation between PFM quality and health outcomes from a sample of sub-Saharan African countries over the period 2005-2018, using a pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) estimator. The analysis uses Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) scores as proxies for PFM quality. The findings indicate that countries with high-quality PFM tended to have the lowest maternal, under-five and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) mortality. Among the standard PFM dimensions, the one associated with the higher correlation with maternal and under-five mortality was "predictability and control in budget execution." Better PFM quality was significantly associated with a drop in maternal and under-five mortality in countries which allocated a higher proportion of their budget to the health sector. In countries allocating a lower proportion of their budget to health, the correlations between PFM quality and the three mortality indicators were not significant. The negative correlations between PFM quality and maternal and under-five mortality were significant only in countries with more effective governance. These findings support an emphasis on strengthening PFM as a means of improving health service provision and health outcomes.

Mapping and analysis of health financing in South Kivu province (DRC) / Cartographie et analyse du financement de la santé dans la province du Sud-Kivu (RDC)

Introduction: In South-Kivu, the health system is underfunded due to numerous constraints. Several initiatives have been tested but are insufficient for increasing and sustaining health financing. Purpose of research: Analyze the health financing system in South-Kivu, through a mapping as well as quantitative and qualitative analysis of health financing mechanisms. Results: The provincial health financing system is fragmented, with poorly coordinated mechanisms and interventions, leading to duplication of health system strengthening activities in addition to the absence of a mechanism for pooling external funding flows. Costs recovery (i.e. user fees) and external supports are the most widely used schemes while the government hardly contributes to the financing of the provincial health system. Mutual health insurance is supposed to improve access to health care, but its coverage is still extremely low. Results-Based Financing and free health care programs, fully financed by external donors, are irregular and insufficiently sustainable. Conclusions: It would be critical to implement a strategic purchasing model that is anchored in local institutions, owned by all stakeholders, and integrating all existing financing mechanisms, which could be supported by a common fund supporting the provincial health system. The "Single Contract" initiative developed to harmonize, pool, and sustain external programs, could be a good basis in this respect. This would involve strengthening policy dialogue, developing an investment case to support resource mobilization and implementing a joint monitoring and evaluation platform for disbursements led by the provincial health authorities.

Introduction: Au Sud-Kivu, en République démocratique du Congo, le système de santé est sous-financé dû à de nombreuses contraintes. Plusieurs initiatives ont été testées mais restent insuffisantes pour augmenter et pérenniser le financement de la santé. But de l'étude: Analyser le système de financement de la santé au Sud-Kivu, par une cartographie et une analyse quantitative et qualitative des mécanismes de financement. Résultats: Le système de financement de la santé de la province est fragmenté, avec des mécanismes et interventions peu coordonnés, suscitant des duplications d'activités d'appui au système de santé, en plus de la quasi-absence de mécanisme de mise en commun des appuis extérieurs. Le recouvrement des coûts et les financements extérieurs sont les mécanismes les plus utilisés alors que l'État contribue très faiblement au financement du système provincial de santé. Les mutuelles de santé sont censées améliorer l'accès aux soins, mais leur taux de couverture reste extrêmement faible. Le financement basé sur les résultats et la gratuité des soins, intégralement compensés par les donateurs extérieurs, sont irréguliers et insuffisamment pérennes. Conclusions: Il serait essentiel d'adopter au Sud-Kivu un modèle d'achat stratégique, ancré dans les institutions locales, approprié par l'ensemble des parties prenantes, qui intègre l'ensemble des mécanismes de financement existants et qui soit appuyé par un fonds commun d'appui au système provincial de santé. L'initiative du Contrat unique développée pour harmoniser, mettre en commun et pérenniser les programmes extérieurs peut servir de base pour élaborer un tel modèle. Ceci impliquerait de renforcer le dialogue politique, d'élaborer un dossier d'investissement pour soutenir la mobilisation des ressources et de créer une plateforme conjointe de suivi et d'évaluation des décaissements, pilotée par les autorités provinciales de santé.