At the Third Meeting of the OECS Ministers of Health in July 2000, Ministers were apprised of the status of the proposal that had been submitted to the Government of France for possible funding of the OECS Health Sector Reform Programme. The areas in which assistance was being requested are:- Strengthening of Ministries of Health;
- Re-Organization of Health Systems;
- Quality Improvement and Assurance; and
- Regional Sharing of Health Services.
In early January 2001, the OECS Secretariat was informed that the ministerial committee in France had given favourable consideration to the request. On May 31st, 2001, the Government of France and the OECS Secretariat signed a three-year agreement in support of the implementation of the OECS Health Sector Reform Programme. PROGRAMMATIC COMPONENTS The Agreement provides funding for all of the elements of the Health Sector Reform Programme in the OECS with the exception of the financing component. The categorization of elements used in the Financing Agreement does not exactly match those in the proposal submitted, although the elements are the same. ELEMENTS OF THE FINANCING AGREEMENT | Funding in Euros | Component 1:
STRENGTHENING OF REGIONAL COORDINATION | 274,408 | | Support to the development of a regional maintenance system for biomedical equipment in the OECS: Establishment of a regional maintenance center. | 198,184 | Development of training plans for strengthening the Health Sector | 22,867 | Provision of training for persons involved in the Health System Reform | 53,357 | Component 2:
SUPPORT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A REGIONAL HEALTH CARE PLAN | 224,100 | | Support to the elaboration of a basic minimum package of health services: development of a data base of health services and technologies available in the Caribbean region | 18,294 | Support to the implementation of shared services in OECS countries | 205,806 | Component 3:
SUPPORT TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF QUALITY HEALTH CARE AND PUBLIC HEALTH | 200,470 | | Development of quality assurance programs | 55,644 | | Public health activities : strengthening of health information and surveillance systems for chronicles and no chronicles diseases | 144,827 | Component 4:
FOLLOW UP AND EVALUATION | 63,266 | Follow-up and monitoring of the implementation | 48,021 | Evaluation | 15,245 | | TOTAL | 762,245 |
DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCEThe total funding package is 762,245 Euros (5 millions French francs) (about EC$1.75m) of which: - 602.173 Euros (3,950,000 FF or about EC$ 1.39m) will be assigned to the OECS Secretariat;
- 144.827 Euros (950,000 FF or about EC$333,333) will be given to PAHO for transmission to CAREC to support implementation of the public health activities of component 3; and
- 15.245 Euros (100,000 FF or about EC$35,088) will be retained by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs to support the final evaluation of the project.
The Agreement also provides for the services of the following persons through technical assistance: - Health Advisor / Project Coordinator at the OECS Secretariat;
- Bio-Medical Engineer for the setting up of the Regional Maintenance Centre;and
- A Technical Assistant (epidemiologist) at CAREC.
PROJECT STRUCTUREThe Project will be executed by the OECS Secretariat and implemented by other technical agencies in accordance with Memoranda of Understanding between the OECS Secretariat and these agencies. The OECS Health Advisor is designated as the Project Coordinator and he will, among other things, ensure implementation of project activities in accordance with the project documents.
The project will be guided by a Steering Committee comprising the following: - Permanent Secretaries in the Ministries of Health in Member States;
- The Director of Functional Cooperation at the OECS Secretariat or his designee;
- A representative of the PAHO;
- A representative of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
- A representative of the French Ministry of Social Affairs (FOD); and the
- OECS Health Advisor who will function as Secretary to the Committee.
The Steering Committee will meet twice per year. The Director of Functional Cooperation will present status reports on the project to Ministers of Health at their annual meetings. Two project evaluations will be undertaken during the course of the project (mid-way and at the conclusion of the project). The OECS Secretariat and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs will conduct the evaluations jointly. |
