MoH, stakeholders to launch partnership platform

GOTHATAONE MOENG
Staff Writer | Thursday August 23, 2012 00:00

BHPF will be officially launched at the forum's next meeting which will take place at a date still to be announced.The founding co-chairpersons of the forum are the Permanent Secretary in the MOH Dr Kolaatamo Malefho and Dr Kathleen Toomey, who represents the private sector. Dr Malefho says the forum will take place under the leadership of government but all stakeholders will participate in dialogue to facilitate domestic accountability.

At a BHPF meeting in Gaborone on Tuesday, Dr Malefho said the objectives of the forum include creating a common funding mechanism for the health sector involving the government and its development partners, as well as enabling the adoption of a memorandum of understanding for harmonising systems and procedures within the health sector. BHPF also aims to ensure that a single and unified annual performance assessment of the health sector is carried out jointly between MoH and its partners. 

Dr Malefho said the forum will also help better target areas where the sector needs support by identifying gaps within the health system and make partners' contribution complementary to avoid duplications of services. It is anticipated that the forum will give the ministry a broad vision of the sector and of the resources at its disposal, thus permitting better planning and management of the health sector.Presenting the forum's draft terms of reference, senior MoH official Naledi Mlaudzi proposed that dialogue within the forum take place at three levels, namely, a Sectoral Coordination Committee, a Joint Coordination Committee and Health Technical Working Groups.The forum will meet quarterly at the beginning and subsequently twice a year as it becomes more established. The terms of reference that will determine how the forum works will be revised and adopted at the forum's next meeting.