By Guerzovich, Maria F. and Maria Poli. 2020. “How Social Accountability Strengthens Cross-Sector Initiatives to Deliver Quality Health Services?” Global Partnership for Social Accountability Note 17. World Bank, Washington, DC. https://gpsaknowledge.org/uncategorized/how-social-accountability-strengthens-cross-sector-initiatives-to-deliver-quality-health-services/
Citizens have a role to play in supporting health care quality and access as well as equality in the delivery of health services. This note is an overview of lessons from evidence about how social accountability processes can strengthen cross-sector programs to deliver health services. Social accountability is a process that enables the inclusive participation and collective action of citizens and civil society organizations in public policy making and implementation so that state and service providers are responsive to citizens’ needs and held accountable.
Three principal, not mutually exclusive, approaches are found for social accountability to add value to health sector reforms: producing information, campaigning for accountability, and undertaking programmatic problem solving. The latter is called collaborative social accountability. It is a process that engages citizens, civil society groups, and public sector institutions in joint, iterative problem solving to improve service delivery, sector governance, and accountability. This note underscores the added value of collaborative social accountability processes. This includes improving the quality of design of operations, mitigating risks associated with implementation, strengthening health systems and governance, and aligning stakeholders. In so doing, collaborative social accountability can contribute toward strengthening health and cross-sector programmatic gains. Rules of thumb guidance for future opportunities would include connecting health reforms and civil society led interventions throughout the life cycle of project operations and investing in social and political capital for the sector. This note concludes with insights about the roles that international development partners can play to support locally-led processes for improving the quality and delivery of health services.
Health Delivery as a Team Effort
Health care access and quality is unequal around the world, limiting people’s ability to receive the services they need to live fulfilling lives. Twenty-first century health initiatives to address access, quality, and equality are clear: the health sector on its own will not overcome these challenges. These initiatives include the Universal Health Coverage coalition, the Global Financing Facility, and the World Bank’s Human Capital Project, among others. Health policy making and programming is becoming a team effort in which the whole government has a role to play. These are cross-sector initiatives — neither health nor any single sector can deliver outcomes on its own. While government should lead on delivering access to the quality health services that all people need without hardship, other actors have a role to play as well, including citizens, health users and patients, local communities, and health care workers. According to the World Bank (2018): Citizens should be empowered and informed to actively engage in health care decisions and in designing new models of care to meet the needs of their local communities. Health care workers should see patients as partners and commit themselves to providing and using data to demonstrate the effectiveness and safety of health care. Health systems should focus on competent care and user experience to ensure confidence in the system. If health should be a whole of society effort, social accountability processes can help make that vision a reality. Social accountability is a process that enables the inclusive participation and collective action of citizens and civil society organizations in public policy making and implementation so that state and service providers are responsive to citizens’ needs and held accountable. See moreClick here for the full documentor see attached file.
Blog » How Social Accountability Strengthens Cross-Sector Initiatives to Deliver Quality Health Services?
How Social Accountability Strengthens Cross-Sector Initiatives to Deliver Quality Health Services?
By Guerzovich, Maria F. and Maria Poli. 2020. “How Social Accountability Strengthens Cross-Sector Initiatives to Deliver Quality Health Services?” Global Partnership for Social Accountability Note 17. World Bank, Washington, DC. https://gpsaknowledge.org/uncategorized/how-social-accountability-strengthens-cross-sector-initiatives-to-deliver-quality-health-services/
Citizens have a role to play in supporting health care quality and access as well as equality in the delivery of health services. This note is an overview of lessons from evidence about how social accountability processes can strengthen cross-sector programs to deliver health services. Social accountability is a process that enables the inclusive participation and collective action of citizens and civil society organizations in public policy making and implementation so that state and service providers are responsive to citizens’ needs and held accountable.
Three principal, not mutually exclusive, approaches are found for social accountability to add value to health sector reforms: producing information, campaigning for accountability, and undertaking programmatic problem solving. The latter is called collaborative social accountability. It is a process that engages citizens, civil society groups, and public sector institutions in joint, iterative problem solving to improve service delivery, sector governance, and accountability. This note underscores the added value of collaborative social accountability processes. This includes improving the quality of design of operations, mitigating risks associated with implementation, strengthening health systems and governance, and aligning stakeholders. In so doing, collaborative social accountability can contribute toward strengthening health and cross-sector programmatic gains. Rules of thumb guidance for future opportunities would include connecting health reforms and civil society led interventions throughout the life cycle of project operations and investing in social and political capital for the sector. This note concludes with insights about the roles that international development partners can play to support locally-led processes for improving the quality and delivery of health services.
Health Delivery as a Team Effort
Health care access and quality is unequal around the world, limiting people’s ability to receive the services they need to live fulfilling lives. Twenty-first century health initiatives to address access, quality, and equality are clear: the health sector on its own will not overcome these challenges. These initiatives include the Universal Health Coverage coalition, the Global Financing Facility, and the World Bank’s Human Capital Project, among others. Health policy making and programming is becoming a team effort in which the whole government has a role to play. These are cross-sector initiatives — neither health nor any single sector can deliver outcomes on its own. While government should lead on delivering access to the quality health services that all people need without hardship, other actors have a role to play as well, including citizens, health users and patients, local communities, and health care workers. According to the World Bank (2018): Citizens should be empowered and informed to actively engage in health care decisions and in designing new models of care to meet the needs of their local communities. Health care workers should see patients as partners and commit themselves to providing and using data to demonstrate the effectiveness and safety of health care. Health systems should focus on competent care and user experience to ensure confidence in the system. If health should be a whole of society effort, social accountability processes can help make that vision a reality. Social accountability is a process that enables the inclusive participation and collective action of citizens and civil society organizations in public policy making and implementation so that state and service providers are responsive to citizens’ needs and held accountable. See more Click here for the full document or see attached file.