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Sunday, August 30, 2009
Grand Hall/Exhibit Hall
The 2008 Accra Agenda affirms the consensus that achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will necessitate significant improvements in country ownership and its application to health information systems (HIS). The Health Metrics Network (HMN) Framework and Standards requires that countries establish a stakeholder working group (SWG) where none exists, to nurture country ownership. SWG includes representation from several groups of actors involved in HIS, including information users from health communities, producers from the statistics communities, donors, private sector and civil society.
In a survey of 65 countries from all regions of the world, using the HMN Framework and Standards, 41 had established SWG, which were linked to improved country-led coordination of HIS implementation. At the same time, stakeholder coordination was ranked as the most pressing challenge faced by countries.
Preliminary in-depth interviews of 10 out of intended 16 key informants, principally national representatives of SWG in Gambia, Mongolia, Philippines, and Armenia, were undertaken. The objective was to gain further understanding of the dynamics of SWG. The initial results showed that well-defined terms of reference and regular meetings were necessary yet insufficient for improved coordination. Beyond their intrinsic individual commitment, respondents indicated that cash payments as "sitting allowances", help to guarantee meeting attendance and motivation. Ironically, donor funds were often cited as the source of sitting allowances. Although decision making in SWG varied from group consensus-based approaches to caucusing and formal voting, they both helped when the SWG was results oriented. One aspect SWG struggle with is how to effectively monitor progress in HIS implementation nationally. Further studies are planned on the role of incentives for effective SWG and the instrumental roles of donors and their viewpoints in facilitating effective country partnerships.
In a survey of 65 countries from all regions of the world, using the HMN Framework and Standards, 41 had established SWG, which were linked to improved country-led coordination of HIS implementation. At the same time, stakeholder coordination was ranked as the most pressing challenge faced by countries.
Preliminary in-depth interviews of 10 out of intended 16 key informants, principally national representatives of SWG in Gambia, Mongolia, Philippines, and Armenia, were undertaken. The objective was to gain further understanding of the dynamics of SWG. The initial results showed that well-defined terms of reference and regular meetings were necessary yet insufficient for improved coordination. Beyond their intrinsic individual commitment, respondents indicated that cash payments as "sitting allowances", help to guarantee meeting attendance and motivation. Ironically, donor funds were often cited as the source of sitting allowances. Although decision making in SWG varied from group consensus-based approaches to caucusing and formal voting, they both helped when the SWG was results oriented. One aspect SWG struggle with is how to effectively monitor progress in HIS implementation nationally. Further studies are planned on the role of incentives for effective SWG and the instrumental roles of donors and their viewpoints in facilitating effective country partnerships.