Evidence-Based Policy Decision Making in Ethiopia

Overall project value

• Mobilize adequate domestic health resources through innovative financing, reduce out-of-pocket payment (OOP)
• Improve efficiency, health care finance capacity at all levels and public private partnership
• Cover the areas of Health Economics, Supply Chain Management, Equity and Efficiency Analysis, Operational Research (Evidence-based Programming into Policy), Capacity Building and Curriculum Development, Integrated Information Systems, Knowledge Management and Communication

Project description

management4health is working with an independent UK based consulting firm called Oxford Policy Management (OPM) to support Health Economics and Financial Analysis (HEFA) by developing alternative models to address the gaps in three core research areas of efficiency analysis, economic evaluation and equity in health financing.

The overall objective of the project is to generate high-quality evidence by conducting both primary and secondary data analysis and producing studies primarily in health economics and health financing related topics that influence the health sector and health policy implementation in the areas of efficiency, effectiveness and equity.

Scope of work

Efficiency: By identifying areas where there is an opportunity to increase efficiency within the pharmaceutical and medical goods logistics and supply chain system, “Value for Money” can be significantly improved, substantial savings for EPSA can be generated, and greater output to the health system can be delivered. This can be achieved by:

• Quantification of savings from obtaining better prices in the procurement of pharmaceuticals
• Quantification of efficiency improvement from reducing the procurement lead time of pharmaceuticals, and particularly within warehousing
• Estimation of inefficiencies due to underutilization of medical equipment and overconsumption of pharmaceuticals and medical goods
• Effect of parallel, vertical programs and impact on efficiency of the medical good management process

Economic evaluation: In order to make the use of adolescent health interventions more effective and efficient, data analysis and evidence will be put together and shared with concerned parties, policy-makers, and national and international partners as the basis for discussion and the further development of coherent and goal-oriented policies. This will entail carrying out the following studies:

• Quantification of the Burden of Diseases in adolescent age
• Costing analysis of adolescent health care and services and adolescent health package
• CEA of the adolescent services delivery strategies

Equity: With the data sources available from national studies, documents, surveys data on utilization, expenditures, and wealth distribution, the equity research approach will assess and value the financial and beneficial incidence toward the financing progressivity and operational pro-poor Ethiopian health system. This approach has four objectives:

• To develop a standard protocol on how to conduct analysis on equity in health financing and delivery of services using both BIA and FIA methods of equity analysis in order to create health economic evidence for policymaking in Ethiopia
• To explore suitable and cost-effective potential data sources for regular benefit and financing incidence analysis
• To conduct a state-of-the-art financing incidence analysis using recent household health service utilization and expenditure data
• To ensure the capacity so that the evidence required for the health policy process can be provided by means of regular equity analyses.

Ongoing training on Health Equity Analysis with senior Ministriy of Health decision makers and lecturers from 4 academic institutions

Efficiency analysis of pharmaceutical and medical equipment