SARRAH supports donor coordination to make funding work to improve health systems and health outcomes in South Africa.
The National Department of Health has set ambitious targets for improving the health of all South Africans, which have been set out in a Negotiated Service Delivery Agreement on health (NSDA). Reaching these targets will depend on collaboration across government departments, and cooperation between government, international development partners, civil society and the private sector.
The National Department of Health has therefore embarked on a review of the role of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) with the aim of improving its alignment with the goals of the NSDA.
SARRAH has supported this process with funding for a consultant, identified by the NDOH, who has facilitated dialogue between development partners and departmental clusters around this strategic alignment.
Key issues and problems with ODA were identified as:
- The large number and diversity of donors;
- Dominance of funding for disease-specific programmes;
- Duplication of funding objectives and pursuit of parallel agendas;
- By-passing government processes and systems for ODA;
- Multiple channels for ODA flow; and
- Multiplicity of performance indicators.
In December 2010, SARRAH supported the Annual Development Partner Consultative Forum which discussed donor coordination and reprogramming as well as common systems for monitoring and evaluation. An Aid Effectiveness Framework for Health, to guide future ODA was discussed. Basic principles of the framework are based on the five key principles of the Paris Declaration on Aids Effectiveness, which are:
- Ownership of development strategies by the Government of South Africa;
- Alignment of aid by development partners in line with these strategies;
- Harmonisation of actions by development partners through coordinating their actions, sharing information and simplifying procedures;
- Managing for results by producing and measuring development results; and
- Mutual accountability for development outcomes by the government and development partners.
The meeting also discussed a comprehensive structure to coordinate and review progress on the framework; and ways of strengthening the current departmental ODA structures to enable the government to lead this process.
Minister Motsoaledi launched the Aid Effectiveness Framework for Health in South Africa at the Annual Development Partner Consultative Forum in January 2011.
Also on this site:
The Aid Effectiveness Framework for Health in South Africa. READ...Aid effectiveness (background). READ... |