Resource information
This Health Sector Note is the result of
the first phase of an open, participatory three-step process
for developing the Health Sector Policy and Strategic Plan
(HSPSP), and serves as the preliminary basis for further
rounds of discussions, and analyses among stakeholders, to
arrive at a strategic vision for the national health sector.
The socioeconomic situation is reviewed, stipulating Eritrea
remains one of the poorest countries in the world, where
lack of sustained economic growth, does not hold much
promise for a reduction in poverty in the short to medium
term. This will constrain growth in personal income and
government revenue, and in turn, growth in domestic
resources for investment in, and recurrent cost support to,
the health sector. The note identifies the strengths, and
challenges of the health sector, as well as the state of the
human resources and infrastructure of the sector, discussing
briefly, the role of the private sector. Adequate resources
need to be mobilized and available to health care services,
as well as to other related sectors, such as water and
sanitation. However, given competing demands on the
country's limited resources, actions in all sectors
need to be prioritized. Recommended actions include, for the
short term, the establishment of a baseline information
system, so as to evaluate the performance and
cost-effectiveness of specific health programs. Likewise,
there is the need to estimate the National Health Accounts
to better assess the sector's sources and uses of
funds, and, to evaluate alternative sources of revenues,
including user charges, and public and private insurance
options. Medium-term priorities suggest undertaking unit
costing studies to evaluate the public system's
technical efficiency, to then provide a framework for a
comprehensive health sector development, while long-term
priorities include among others, the development of
financing options for universal coverage, including
public-private insurance mechanisms.
