Swaziland—Strengthening Public Health Governance and Management Systems

Strengthening health care and decentralizing hospitals in Swaziland is a key strategy for improved health care delivery and requires clear governance and enhanced management capacity. The Swaziland Ministry of Health National Health Sector Strategic Plan 2014–2018 aimed to strengthen the governance and management capacity of the Ministry of Health and health institutions to effectively and efficiently perform and discharge core health sector functions.

The institutional development strategy focused on building a distinctive organizational culture, promoting values related to work processes and recognition systems, including institutional growth, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, responsiveness, and sustainability.

DAI Global Health supported the Ministry of Health in the implementation of the government’s institutional and management reform initiatives. Through improving governance and management structures, models and processes, and promoting results-driven service provision, this project will contribute to broader sector outcomes, such as efficiency and sustainability of health financing, improvements in the quality of care, and better health outcomes.

Sample Activities

• Hold stakeholder consultations and perform diagnostic assessments of the status of governance and management in the health sector with an emphasis on hospitals, involving qualitative and quantitative information.
• Present options for governance models and management structures, drawing from lessons, experiences, and discussions from the above analysis.
• Provide a set of governance and management tools and processes to support effective implementation of the reforms across all levels of care.

Select Results

• Submitted a detailed model and an implementation roadmap for creating more autonomous, or decentralised, hospitals which will inform the Swaziland Ministry of Health’s future planning and strategy.