Ministry of Health (MoH) says that Ethiopia has invested heavily in health system strengthening. It is guided by well witnessed policies and strategies resulting in significant gains in improving the health status of Ethiopians. As a result, the country has done remarkably well in meeting most of the MDG targets.
MoH recently announced the country’s seventh round healthcare spending study finding. Minister Dr. Amir Aman said that according to seventh round health expenditure study finding, nation’s total health spending compared to the previous expenditure, the seventh round has shown a progress.
The minster further said the health expenditure study has been practiced globally and used by many countries with the view to follow up health sector allocated resources whether it has been utilized for intended objectives.
The ministry is committed to make a change in the health sector, Minister Dr. Amir Aman
Thereof, the nation’s total health expenditure has grown from 49.6 billion Birr six round study to over 72 billion Birr during seventh round. It has revealed 45 percent development.
Moreover, when the ministry compares major and other health spending sources, the allocation of the government’s health expenditure has grown by 57 percent. Whereas development partners’ spending resources in the sector has grown by 44 percent. Meanwhile families health expenditure has grown by 34 percent as well.
Moreover, according to the latest round healthcare study finding, the country’s per capital income health expenditure compared to the six round study, it has grown from 28.65 USD to 33. 21 USD by seventh round.
Minister Dr. Amir Aman said that previously the ministry had carried out six round studies through the support of development partners’ financial and technical support. The study findings have been used as an input for the sector’s policy decisions.
The seventh round health expenditure study was carried out incorporating ministry’s and different development partners’ ongoing heath sector provision. It is very potential tool to formulate ministry’s future health service access and to fill gaps observed in the sector. The study was covered mainly by World Health Organization (WHO) Ethiopian Office.
Accordingly, the study has incorporated and assessed all necessary sectors’ spending, total resource spending starting from the beginning up to the final resource utilization. It analyzes and provides detail explanations about the spending.
Besides, the study finding further analysis the expenditure, such as by whom it administered and addressed to the beneficiaries and by which health institutions heath service provisions have been provided. As a result, the government has been utilizing the health expenditure study findings for its health service accessibility efforts and recurrent policy decision motives and resource allocation input.
By far, the study was carried out amid at getting timely information about the total health expenditure and checking up its flow. The finding will also use to evaluate the heath sector’s transformation plan performance and set financial earning policy goal inputs, the minister said.
So as to carry out the seventh health sector study, the ministry has included 2009 EC fiscal year various health spending audited documents.
In total , in regard with government’s healthcare spending, Ministry of Finance, 29 heath sectors engaged development partners, about 270 non-governmental organizations, 250 private employer offices, 24 public development enterprises, 17 insurance organizations among others were included in the study. Besides, new family level health expenditure survey was not carried out. Six round family level spending evidence will be used, he said.
Although the nation’s healthcare expenditure is encouraging, the seventh round finding compared with WHO set per capital income heath spending standard and countries with similar development health spending status, Ethiopia’s healthcare spending is low, said the minister.
In sum, the ministry will utilize the study findings as a policy design input. It calls upon all ministry’s stakeholders, states health bureaus, development partners and non-governmental organizations and private sectors making the report practical. Besides, benchmarking the report, the ministry, universities and research institutions expanding their research horizon in the sector, he said
Building on the lessons learned in implementing the earlier plans and to be highly responsive to the current socioeconomic landscape, Ethiopia has developed Health Sector Transformation Plan (HSTP), which is part of the second Growth and Transformation Plan(GTP II). HSTP is also the first phase of the 20-year health sector strategy called ‘Envisioning Ethiopia’s Path to Universal Health Care through strengthening of Primary Healthcare, Heath Sector Transformation Plan said.
The Ethiopian Herald Saturday 28 September 2019
BY ALAZAR SHIFERAW
