About the Collaborative – This activity is currently active

Contracting is an essential tool in mixed (public plus private) health systems. The goal of this initiative is to equip participants with the knowledge and skills to take steps towards establishing, improving, or expanding contracting for TB- and other health-related services. Contracting of TB services will be used as an example but with lessons that are broadly applicable across health areas.

The focus will be on contracting with NGOs/CSOs and the for-profit private sector for specific, selected services, using a country’s own procurement system and domestic funds, to increase health system efficiency and effectiveness.

Contracting is an essential tool in mixed (public plus private) health systems. The goal of this initiative is to equip participants with the knowledge and skills to take steps towards establishing, improving, or expanding contracting for health services, including those that support the achievement of TB goals. Management Sciences for Health, through USAID’s Health Systems for TB (HS4TB) Project, facilitates the collaborative and brings together a group of frontline practitioners and country representatives to both exchange and improve their national strategies through cross-country virtual engagements and an in-person workshop. 

The year-long program will consist of seven workshops: one virtual launch meeting; five virtual workshops to progress the work; and a mid-point in-person workshop. A scoping phase with participating countries shaped the learning agenda. The topics covered in this collaborative include: 1) legal, policy, and regulatory environment for contracting; 2) political will, governance, and making the case for contracting; 3) the nuts and bolts of contract implementation; 4) how to budget for contracting and 5) contractor perspectives and experiences. 

We discuss practical actions needed to create the enabling environment for contracting health services and that are relevant to countries considering contracting or looking to improve their existing contracting practices (Figure 1). How these actions are sequenced and conducted is both opportunistic and unique to context. 

Figure. Actions to create an enabling environment for contracting health services 

There are no generalized “how-to” steps or processes that countries ought to follow. We use a primer which provides some ideas, useful resources, and questions to consider along this journey.