The African Health Economics and Policy Association (AfHEA) has been awarded a two and half year project- Support African Health Economics Association for research on health financing issues -funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The charitable purpose is to provide quality analytical work and enhance AfHEA’s capacity to conduct research that will fill in the existing knowledge gaps on effective health financing approaches to achieve optimal health outcomes in African Countries.

With a Grant of $ 701,902 for the period November 2014 – March 2017 the project seeks to contribute to achieving the three key health sector objectives:

1. improved health outcomes and economic growth by making available better evidence for enhanced performance of the health sector in countries.
2. increased resource mobilization for improved efficiency, effectiveness and equity of resource allocation and management in the health sector through high quality analytical work. and
3. capacity building for health economics and financing as well as policy analyses in Africa.

AfHEA looks to contributing to achieving these objectives through three broad components;

1. Improving Primary Health Care (PHC) performance: This would be concerned with analyses that would enhance the performance of PHC including how to address the frequently –found financing imbalance against PHC. This would include survey focused on the traditional service delivery areas to analyze them for evidence that supports the case for improving PHC performance.

   There would be a call for abstracts of high quality financing papers from AfHEA members from which four would be selected in year 1 and another four in year 2. The project will award best authors and additionally, provide technical support to the winners to develop such abstract into full papers for presentation at the 2016 conference.

2. Health for Development: This seeks to contribute to the agenda of “convergence” advocated by the Lancet’s Commission on Investing in Health (CIH) through a number of complementary and synergistic activities that potentially contribute to improved health systems performance and GDP growth. Broad macro economic analyses and other activities that contribute to the realization of health sector contribution to economic growth, improving outcomes and equity in health. Major activities planned under this component include fiscal spaces and related analyses to highlight the policy choices facing countries graduating from low income to low middle income status; Outreach activities to help match policy makers’ thinking to the potential contribution of health economic growth; Comparative Analyses of NHA data to find relationship between health outcomes and spending etc.
3. Strengthening AfHEA’s Research and Institutional Capacity; making it reliable resources for policy makers through timely publication and outreach.  This will help strengthen AfHEA’s institutional base and enhance research analytical capacities of members through, among others, funding for a number of research and other analytical work. Some of the activities under this would also help to reflect emerging priorities and gaps for research and outreach in health financing and policy analysis in Africa. A significant part of the results of these activities will be presented at the 2016 AfHEA conference.

The project will also support the development of AfHEA’s website to ensure that it is properly resourced for the growing member base and also serving as a platform for disseminating the research that emerges out of the planned project and other activities.

Contact Details:
Dr Chris Atim (Executive Director of AfHEA, Project Leader, chrisatim@afhea.org / chrisatim1@gmail.com
Mrs Augusta Nyamadi-Clottey, Project Manager, augustaclottey@afhea.org /augieclottey@yahoo.com