Over the past decade, Results for Development (R4D) has partnered with the Government of Tanzania and other stakeholders to help expand access to this life-saving treatment. Through a coordinated market shaping effort that addressed financing, supply planning, policy alignment, and supplier engagement, Tanzania has strengthened the systems needed to ensure Amox DT is consistently available in health facilities. These efforts also supported a transition from donor-financed procurement to sustainable domestic financing.

This impact brief highlights how government leadership and targeted market shaping interventions helped expand access to pediatric pneumonia treatment and reduce child mortality while strengthening the systems that sustain it. It also shares lessons for countries and partners working to improve access to essential medicines.

For recommendations on how to continue building on this progress, see the accompanying policy brief.

Additional resources:

Implementation and lessons

• Supporting Tanzania’s Ministry of Health to improve commodity availability through bottom-up quantification
• Sustainable health commodity financing: Lessons from Tanzania’s transition from donor funding

Research and analysis

• Correct diagnosis of childhood pneumonia in public facilities in Tanzania
• Increasing the role of the private sector in pediatric pneumonia treatment in Tanzania

The post Impact Brief: Reducing Child Mortality in Tanzania by Increasing Access to Pediatric Pneumonia Treatment appeared first on Results for Development.

The major global health agencies — including the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) — have put sustainability at the forefront of their strategies and investment policies, with sustainability referring to the maintenance of national responses to major health threats as donor funding declines or ends. While each global health agency has its own definition of sustainability for its programs and its sustainability planning, the dialogue on sustainability at the country level should be grounded in a systemwide view of domestic health financing and service delivery.

This guide provides suggested approaches and analytical tools for implementing the Global Fund’s Sustainability, Transition and Co-Financing (STC) Policy in High Impact Africa countries. It is meant to support structured dialogue to inform policy decisions that can help sustain progress on programs that address HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as donor funding declines or ends, given the context of a country’s health financing system and reform plans.

The post Sustainability Planning for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Programs in High Impact Africa Countries: Guidance for the Global Fund on How to Support a Successful Transition to Domestic Financing appeared first on Results for Development.

Ms. Gowda will oversee a global team of 30 staff dedicated to improving access to essential, life-saving products and services. She will provide strategic thought leadership, technical direction and management for the practice area, which includes a portfolio of eight projects in nine countries aiming to expand access to life saving commodities across nutrition, maternal and child health, and assistive technologies. She will also lead partner engagement with governments, donors, technical experts and industry partners, building on R4D’s significant experience and impact in this space.

Ms. Gowda is a proven leader with 15 years of experience tackling global health inequities through market-based solutions. Throughout her career she has influenced both the demand and supply of key health care commodities and services with the goal of expanding access to people living in low- and middle-income countries.

“Bhavya brings tremendous passion, expertise and an impressive track record in global health. She applies a market lens to solving complex global health problems through research, analysis and collaboration with partners. We are so excited to have her join our team and to continue building upon our approach. Personally, I am especially excited to work with Bhavya to bring Results for Development’s health financing and market shaping work together to ensure sustainable and equitable financing for life-saving products as markets are expanded and strengthened,” said Dr. Cheryl Cashin, managing director at R4D.

Prior to joining R4D, Ms. Gowda served as senior market access and commercialization lead at PATH. During her nearly nine-year tenure there, she worked on market shaping projects across sexual and reproductive health, cervical cancer, malaria, diabetes, diagnostics, medical devices, product innovation and human-centered design. Before joining PATH, she worked for the Clinton Health Access Initiative in Ethiopia and Lesotho, leading an array of HIV and TB projects and working closely with the respective Ministries of Health.

“As an organization focused on achieving sustainable impact, R4D supports country leaders and change agents who are driving that work forward. I’m thrilled to join this incredible organization, lead the Market Shaping practice area, and co-create with our partners,” Ms. Gowda said.

She holds a Master of Science in Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.

Learn more about Bhavya in her recent Q&A blog.

###

About Results for Development
Results for Development (R4D) is a leading non-profit global development partner. We collaborate with change agents — government officials, civil society leaders and social innovators — supporting them as they navigate complex change processes to achieve large-scale, equitable outcomes in health, education and nutrition. We work with country leaders to diagnose challenges, co-create, innovate and implement solutions built on evidence and diverse stakeholder input, and engage in learning to adapt, iterate and improve. We also strengthen global, regional and country ecosystems to support country leaders with expertise, evidence, and innovations. R4D helps country leaders solve their immediate challenges today, while also strengthening systems and institutions to address tomorrow’s challenges. And we share what we learn so others around the world can achieve results for development too. www.R4D.org

The post Bhavya Gowda joins R4D as senior director of Market Shaping appeared first on Results for Development.

Abstract: Rehabilitative care is often overlooked and underfunded despite being a key component of universal health coverage, and now faces further neglect due to indirect impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Policy-makers can leverage strategic purchasing approaches to make the most of available funds and maximize health gains. To implement more strategic purchasing of rehabilitation, health planners must: (i) develop and prioritize evidence-based rehabilitation service packages; (ii) use fit-for-purpose contracting and provider payment mechanisms to incentivize quality and efficient service delivery; and (iii) strengthen stewardship. This paper examines these three policy priorities by analysing their associated processes, actors and resources based on country experiences. Policy-makers will likely face several obstacles in operationalizing these policy priorities, including: inadequate accountability and coordination among sectors; limited data and research; undefined and non-standardized rehabilitation services, costs and outcomes; and inadequate availability of rehabilitative care. To overcome challenges and institute optimal strategic purchasing practices for rehabilitation, we recommend that policy-makers strengthen health sector stewardship and establish a framework for multisectoral collaboration, invest in data and research and make use of available experience from high-income settings, while creating a body of evidence from low- and middle-income settings.

To read the full article, click here.

Photo © Alex Kamweru/USAID

The post WHO Bulletin: How to become a strategic purchaser of rehabilitation services appeared first on Results for Development.

Linked will bring together immunization practitioners, policymakers and partners from middle-income countries (MICs) who are facing common immunization program challenges. Through highly participatory, and action-oriented collaborative learning approaches, Linked will support member countries to identify practical solutions and best practices to mitigate and prevent backsliding in vaccine coverage, drive the sustainable introduction of key missing vaccines, and promote increased immunization equity and sustainability.

“R4D is delighted to be facilitating Gavi’s Linked Immunisation Action Network with Curatio International Foundation and the Institute for Health Policy,” said Annette Ozaltin, a program director at R4D. “Collaborative learning and knowledge sharing has proved to be a valuable innovation, supporting countries to collectively solve problems and share lessons learned. These innovative learning approaches are ideal for bringing together countries that face similar challenges as they continue to strengthen and ensure the sustainability of their immunization programs, while improving vaccine coverage and equity and introducing new vaccines.”

Building upon the success of LNCT, the reoriented network is expanding to include all countries that have transitioned from Gavi support as well as select countries that have never received Gavi support. In line with the objectives of Gavi’s MICs Approach, the Linked Immunization Action Network will support these countries to identify practical solutions and best practices to mitigate and prevent decreases in immunization coverage and drive sustainable introduction of key missing vaccines.

The network will continue to be facilitated by R4D, CIF and IHP. We look forward to continuing this journey with you as we work to support countries to strengthen immunization programs and improve sustainability and equity, and we invite you to share questions, requests and suggestions for the reoriented network by email.

Linked will engage country partners to: 

• Understand top immunization program challenges, including barriers and threats to maintaining high and equitable immunization coverage and sustainably introducing new vaccines.
• Facilitate peer-to-peer knowledge sharing to elevate tested solutions and best practices for strengthening immunization programming.
• Support the implementation of solutions and best practices — working with and through country partners — to address immunization program challenges.
• Strengthen skills and capacities within immunization programs.
• Capture and disseminate implementation experiences to ensure learning is shared globally and not lost. 

 These approaches will include in-person and virtual learning exchanges, learning circles, in-person and virtual study tours, country institutional twinning, direct country-to-country linkages, and collaborative problem-solving sessions.

This network will be made up of — and driven by — a group of in-country stakeholders, including decision-makers and technical staff from ministries of health, ministries of finance and other relevant government ministries and departments, immunization technical advisory groups, as well as country partners providing support to national immunization programs.

Linked is an evolution of the Learning Network for Countries in Transition (LNCT), a learning network operating from 2017-2021, for which R4D served as the network coordinator. LNCT  supported over 20 countries transitioning from Gavi support to full domestic financing of their national immunization programs. Learn more about LNCT’s impact here.

### 

About Results for Development
Results for Development (R4D) is a leading non-profit global development partner. We collaborate with change agents — government officials, civil society leaders and social innovators — supporting them as they navigate complex change processes to achieve large-scale, equitable outcomes in health, education and nutrition. We work with country leaders to diagnose challenges, co-create, innovate and implement solutions built on evidence and diverse stakeholder input, and engage in learning to adapt, iterate and improve. We also strengthen global, regional and country ecosystems to support country leaders with expertise, evidence, and innovations. R4D helps country leaders solve their immediate challenges today, while also strengthening systems and institutions to address tomorrow’s challenges. And we share what we learn so others around the world can achieve results for development too. www.R4D.org    

The post New learning network to support immunization programs in middle-income countries appeared first on Results for Development.