SP4PHC in Pakistan
There is considerable momentum towards UHC in Pakistan, though less focus on how purchasing of primary health care can work within current reforms both at the Federal and provincial levels. While the federal government has invested heavily in designing a robust “UHC benefit package” and is exploring revenue sources to finance its delivery, more work is needed at the provincial level to enhance purchasing arrangements and, more specifically, the way provincial governments contract with and pay public and private actors delivering PHC services. ThinkWell is working with provincial governments in Khyber Pakhtunkwa (KP), Sindh, and Punjab on these challenges around contracting arrangements for PHC. This work will serve as a key entry point to more broadly supporting coherence across purchasing mechanisms and overlapping reform agendas. Through this, ThinkWell aims to make purchasing arrangements for PHC services in Pakistan more strategic, amplifying the impact of increased investment in PHC services for women and children, and particularly for those most in need.
The Pakistan team is just getting started on the ground and will share more details of their work as they emerge.
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Strategic Purchasing for Primary Health Care in Pakistan: Challenges and Opportunities
ThinkWell commissioned this study to understand the current landscape for PHC, health financing, and policy reform in Pakistan through desk review and key informant interviews. This report describes our findings and sets the stage for a concept note outlining potential engagement.
SP4PHC aims to improve how governments purchase primary health care services, with a focus on family planning and maternal, newborn, and child health. SP4PHC is supported by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.