Data that is accessible and accurate gives people the power to advocate for their health needs and expectations, and make informed choices to develop and influence policies that affect them. USAID is building the capacity of countries and their institutions, including civil society groups, to monitor, evaluate, and generate evidence so they can influence how healthcare and their health system adapts and responds to changing needs.
Our support for monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning (MERL) activities generate, synthesize, and disseminate evidence related to the efficacy of health systems strengthening (HSS). In Ghana, we support research on the impacts of a Primary Care Provider (PCP) Network to understand how its impacting communities and whether those impacts are equitable. In Guinea, we support research that captures the challenges and successes in operationalizing the country’s National Community Health Strategy and examines the role and impact of community health workers in providing essential health services. Research like this contributes to better understanding of health systems and provides other countries with evidence and lessons learned that can help improve health outcomes in their own countries.
Building the evidence base for health systems through MERL helps document the importance of health systems strengthening. It also strengthens the design of health systems programs to lead to greater impact.
Resources:
- The Health Systems Strengthening (HSS) Practice Spotlight series discusses specific health systems strengthening approaches and how they were successfully applied in USAID-supported or other HSS program settings. By documenting approaches that work, Practice Spotlight briefs can inform strategic planning, program design, and implementation in the HSS space.
- Five Point Call to Action [PDF, 201KB] - Proposes priority actions and specific targets for health measurement and accountability for the post-2015 sustainable development era.
- Impact of Health Systems Strengthening on Health [PDF, 746KB] report - Synthesizes available knowledge of the impact health systems strengthening activities have on system performance and health outcomes.
- Health Systems Strengthening Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Guide - Uses step-by-step instructions to plan, implement monitoring and evaluation processes, methods/techniques to generate evidence on HSS interventions.
- LHSS - generates evidence, resources, and insights to help governments make progress on common challenges like institutionalizing transparent national priority-setting processes for health; fully executing health budgets; engaging with the private sector; addressing the social determinants of health; and operationalizing policies to improve the quality of health care.
- HSS Accelerator - supports local partners as find their own pathways to meaningful and lasting health systems change. Conducts monitoring, evaluation, and research into systems-level barriers, understanding entry points for change, and applying integrated systems improvement approaches. Documents and shares lessons about how to do HSS better and amplify the stories of the change agents who are leading the way.
- Country Health Information Systems and Data Use (CHISU) - strengthens host country capacity and leadership to manage and use high quality health information systems to improve evidence-based decision-making.