1. World Health Organization
23 August 2019
Making giant strides towards UHC in Sudan
What more can Sudan learn from international experience?
Dr. Matthew Jowett - WHO Geneva
Sudan NHP Endorsement Meeting
6-7 February 2018

2. Universal entitlement to (essential) health services
Looking back 12 months
Conference on Universal Health Coverage
Khartoum, Sudan January 2017
Universal entitlement to (essential) health services
To progress towards UHC, need good health policies backed up by
adequate funding, spent wisely…
Adequate public funding
for health
Better use of funds
(efficient, equitable)

3. Impressive developments in Sudan
New health financing strategy and NHIF legislation
NHIF internal reorganization / management improvements
Shift of facility ownership; transfer of free care / U5 programmes to NHIF
Significant increase in potential for greater risk sharing & strategic purchasing

4. Sudan now focuses resources on priority services & priority population
1.5m poor families subsidised under NHIF in Additional 1 million in 2018.

5. Good policy often gets stuck at the implementation phase
Why are budgets not fully spent in some states?
Why do some NHIF members not use services at all, or use very little?
Why is higher spending not resulting in better quality services?

6. Current priority: better understand causes of under-performance

7. Focus on improving the fundamentals and sequence reforms carefully
THAILAND SPEND 10 YEARS BUILDING SERVICE DELIVERY CAPACITY
- Mandatory rural service for doctors (early 70’s)
- Capital investment in hospitals frozen for 5 years
- Extensive expansion of rural facilities in 1980s
Thailand – all in the 1980s….
PHILIPPINES ran ahead with insurance coverage, despite poor access to services.

8. World Health Organization
No short cuts; solutions lie in Sudan; address the fundamentals
World Health Organization
23 August 2019
Major progress on range of policy issues
Continue to strengthen understanding of the constraints to improving performance; M&E
Address both supply-side issues (e.g. facilities, human resources, service quality, medicines/supplies), and…….
….demand-side issues: health and treatment-seeking behaviour