It is a key tool for strengthening the capacities of health authorities and decision-making through monitoring, evaluation, and generation of evidence.
Washington, DC, 20 May 2021 (PAHO)- The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) held the second meeting of the series of virtual seminars on the Essential Public Health Functions (EPHF) that focused on explaining how monitoring and evaluation can strengthen the capacities of health authorities to respond to the health needs of the population.
James Fitzgerald, Director, PAHO/WHO Department of Health Systems and Services, presented the Monitoring Framework for Universal Health in the Americas, a fundamental tool to support the analysis of policy performance, the generation of evidence, and decision-making aimed at strengthening health systems.
“The purpose of this document is to establish a framework, based on consensus, that allows the continuous evaluation of progress in the Region towards the achievement of universal health coverage and universal access to health,” said James Fitzgerald. “This framework allows health authorities to understand the effect of health system policies on the conditions of access and coverage in their countries,” he added.
Kathryn O'Neill, Head of the Evaluation Unit of the Performance of Health Services, World Health Organization (WHO) presented a paper on the framework for measuring and monitoring the performance of Primary Health Care (PHC).
“Within the tool we have proposed a menu of indicators aimed at planning, targeting and monitoring key actions and interventions for strengthening PHC-oriented systems, these indicators can be adapted to each country according to its policies, priorities and its health system, as well as establishing a baseline to establish national goals for PHC,” said O'Neill.
To address the issue of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the social determinants of health and equity in the Americas, Sebastián García Saisó, Director, PAHO/WHO Department of Evidence and Intelligence for Action in Health, reflected on current and future challenges and highlighted the importance of having tools that allow the measurement of results.
“The road to 2030 is now a post-pandemic road and, consequently, society as a whole should review and rethink its priorities toward building resilient systems to combat future pandemics. In this post-pandemic future, health policy accountability on pro-equity decisions and actions will be better informed if guided by explicit measurable goals,” said García Saisó.
This webinar series, organized by the Health Services and Access Unit of the Department of Health Systems and Services (HSS/HS) will offer during the rest of the year, on a monthly basis, different topics, methodological tools and lessons learned, arising from countries experiences to strengthen public health functions. Find more information here.
