The project seeks to eliminate industrial strikes by doctors and medical teams, outlining a guide for transparent consultations and the establishment of communication structures.
"No disciplinary or legal action will be taken against anyone raising a complaint in good faith," assures the new policy released this month, highlighting the importance of fostering an environment where concerns can be raised without fear of reprisal.
A Comprehensive Data Bank for Informed Decision-Making
The project acknowledges the critical role of data in informed decision-making regarding staffing, medical teams, and health institutions, while also implementing a formal Grievance Redress Mechanism to promptly address concerns raised by stakeholders and project-affected individuals.
Stakeholder Engagement: A crucial element
The policy states that "stakeholder engagement is a key component of the project, with the Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) serving as a dynamic framework for meaningful dialogue, public information disclosure, and a mechanism for lodging and resolving complaints.'
The SEP undergoes regular reviews and updates to ensure alignment with project goals and responsiveness to stakeholder needs.
The bank's plan includes a detailed stakeholder identification and analysis process, categorizing stakeholders into Project Affected Parties (PAPs), Other Interested Parties (OIPs), and Disadvantaged/Vulnerable Individuals or Groups. The SEP emphasizes a robust engagement process, utilizing various techniques to ensure inclusive participation and address diverse needs.
Addressing challenges and ensuring compliance
While highlighting the importance of government reforms and economic growth initiatives, the policy acknowledges persistent challenges such as the global economic downturn, unpredictable weather patterns, and insufficient institutional capacity.
"The ongoing government reforms, coupled with anticipated economic growth, were anticipated to facilitate the achievement of health goals. However, the global and local economic downturn, erratic weather patterns, and inadequate institutional capacity, among other challenges, have conspired to slow down the gains made in the sector by increasing the disease burden and the ability of the government to adequately fund the health sector reform programs."
The policy recognized that the global and local economic downturn, unpredictable weather patterns, and insufficient institutional capacity have hampered progress in the health sector in the country, saying that these challenges have increased the burden of diseases and strained the government's ability to adequately fund health sector reform programs.
"Government reforms and economic growth initiatives aim to achieve health goals, but challenges such as the global economic downturn and institutional capacity issues impede progress, increasing disease burden and limiting health funding, prompting the health sector to prioritize reforms at both national and county levels, focusing on healthcare infrastructure, human resources, and financing," reads the policy.
It added that the project has been aligned with national health policies and focuses on addressing issues related to healthcare infrastructure, human resources, institutional capacity, and healthcare financing.
According to the policy, BREHS focuses on addressing gaps in healthcare infrastructure, human resources, institutional capacity, and healthcare financing.
The project comprises three main components: institutional capacity strengthening, improving health services at the primary care level, and project management and evaluation.
A dedicated project management team, oversight committee, and multisectoral oversight group ensure efficient execution and achievement of project goals.
The project will rely on data to carry out informed decision-making processes related to staffing, medical teams, and health institutions.
This data-driven approach is expected to empower the Ministry to create a committee dedicated to addressing issues raised by the public to ensure the public can actively monitor the activities of healthcare providers and institutions.
"For informal complaints, i.e., those raised through social media, print media, or not formally lodged, the committee should deliberate upon them to decide whether to investigate them based on the substance and potential impact or reputational risk to the MoH and the World Bank and take appropriate remedial action," the BREHS policy reads.
The SEP also allocates adequate resources for its implementation, with a budget reviewed biannually.
"Stakeholder engagement is crucial for project success, promoting ownership, and creating a conducive environment for goal attainment. Ensuring inclusive participation, access to benefits, and clear and consistent communication is vital, especially with those affected by the project," the report said.
Through the project, the World Bank wants all the details of the project public, asking the state to get opinions from others and giving ways for people to express their concerns or give input at different stages of the project.
The World Bank calls for early identification of all stakeholders, including staff, suppliers, and institutions, to ensure positive relationship-building, evaluating stakeholder support and interests, incorporating opinions in project design, promoting inclusive engagement with affected parties, and ensuring timely, clear, and accessible project information disclosure.
"There is a need to enrol the VMGs in the social platform for health insurance and address stigma around health-seeking behaviours for certain conditions, including cervical cancer and family planning," the policy reads.
The Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) will be set up to handle complaints, with a focus on being clear, considerate of gender, culturally acceptable, easy to reach, free of cost, without retaliation, and including an appeals process, ensuring quick recording, examination, and resolution of all grievances.
The project, which addresses corruption, intends to address gaps, particularly in procurement alignment service delivery, restructuring the sector, enrolling the vulnerable in social health insurance to combat health-seeking behaviour stigma, and mitigating concerns of political interference by assigning responsibility to county leadership for sustainability.
The policy calls for timely disbursement and requires addressing participant concerns, including GBV, teenage pregnancy, and HIV/AIDS, through community engagement and safe houses.
It will support GBV risk awareness, empowerment, counterpart funding, sustainability, and co-creation beyond maternal health. In remote areas, it demands enhanced outreach, community empowerment with income-generating activities, sufficient resourcing through regular meetings, and increased funds.
"To tackle the challenges of delayed disbursement and limited access at the county level, a clear grievance redress mechanism (GRM) with defined roles and knowledge gap resolution is established," the policy reads.
It adds that public participation in identifying priorities is ensured through participatory approaches, and learning and knowledge management are implemented through modern communication and cross-country learning.
The policy prioritises a comprehensive waste management plan, data protection, and harmonisation within the Social Protection Unit; subgroups identified through a thorough social assessment; and engagement of indigenous peoples through community groups and accurate population data.
Additionally, it advocates for training essential units like lab technicians and linking the Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) to community mechanisms, including the council of elders, for effective grievance resolution. The policy also mandates periodic updates of the Social and Environmental Performance (SEP) during project implementation, with quarterly summaries on public grievances, inquiries, and incidents reported to senior management, assessing the project's ability to address complaints effectively.
