Ministry of Health backs reforms in health service financing
The Chief Technical Adviser in the Ministry of Health, George Nga Mtafu, has said Malawians should fight for the positive even if the reforms government is undertaking are going to cause pain to others.
Speaking during a media briefing on Results-Based Financing for Maternal and Neonatal Health (RBF4MNH) at Liwonde recently, Mtafu said the concept of rewarding results as espoused by RBF will enable the ministry to provide better services, modern infrastructure, improve healthcare provider performance and the quality of maternal services.
“Society must be reformed. Encourage those bringing in reforms because by refocusing issues and rebuilding ideas, service provision in the health sector could be enhanced,” he said.
Mtafu said the reforms are coming in at the right time when demand for health delivery services is on the rise due to the increase in population.
RBF4MNH Programme Director, Matthew Nviiri, said RBF is an output-based approach that focuses on paying for results.
“We want to ensure that government appreciates and adopts RBF as a funding mechanism and this will only be achieved through increased advocacy and sharing best results from the programme.
“We hope that with media support, RBF will become a universal language that will be spoken and understood by everyone in Malawi,” Nviiri said.
He said in a country like Malawi with limited resources, paying for results was the only way that could maximise the impact of every kwacha spent within the health care system.
RBF4MNH/Options Deputy Director, Reagan Kaluluma, said the initiative aims at contributing to the reduction of maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity through the use of incentives.
“The incentives will lead to improved quality of maternal and neonatal health services, increased deliveries at health facility level and creation of awareness and means for pregnant women to come on time to access services,” he said.
Kaluluma also said RBF will change health-seeking behaviour and increase deliveries at facilities providing good quality services.
The German and Royal Norwegian governments committed USD 10 millions for Phase I and Euro 10 Millions for Phase 2 of the programme which is being implemented in Balaka, Dedza, Ntcheu, and Mchinji supporting 28 health facilities.
A vibrant writer who gives a great insight on hot topics and issues
