SPARCing the Change!
SPARC is an initiative with the aim of strengthening strategic purchasing expertise in sub-Saharan Africa and moving countries closer to universal health coverage. Our vision is to empower countries with knowledge and practical tools to make access to affordable and quality health care a reality for all.
As we mark the end of yet another year at SPARC we reflect on our milestones achieved through our collaborations with various players within the health system strengthening arena. Together we’ve not just created a resource center, we have built a movement! SPARC is not just a resource center — it is a movement. SPARC is engaging individuals from stakeholder groups across sub-Saharan Africa to understand, talk about and advocate for strategic purchasing as a way to make better use of limited resources for universal health coverage (UHC). SPARC aims to develop the capacity of its members to hold decision-makers accountable for effective health spending.
The movement is anchored on our objective
Our passion for strategic purchasing has remained our driving force. SPARC has been supporting and continues to support countries to become more efficient and accountable for delivering universal health coverage because we are passionate about achieving our objective.
What did we achieve?
- In the year under review, we continued working with our regional cadre of experts (aka The Force) to refine, review and share experience on the use of the coaching approach to provide technical assistance to countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
2. We connected with expertise within the continent and then deliberately matched them with country needs and demands, making sure that the experts matched with countries had context-specific and relatable experience to support the countries in question.
3. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we responded by crowdsourcing strategic purchasing issues of concern to policymakers and then generating several knowledge materials from them. Through various virtual engagements, we explored the relevance of strategic health purchasing (SHP) during COVID-19. In case you missed any of them and would like to learn more, click here.
4. SPARC has a consortium of African based Anglophone and Francophone partners including academic institutions, think tanks, policy and research institutions. As an integral component of SPARC’s knowledge management pillar, this consortium documented strategic purchasing capacities, functions and governance arrangements in each of their countries.
5. Developing a partnership for health systems strengthening is key for African countries so that they can benefit from pooled expertise, resources and power-sharing. SPARC had the privilege of creating partnerships within the continent and beyond.
What is the movement?
SPARC is not just a resource center — it is a movement. SPARC is engaging individuals from stakeholder groups across sub-Saharan Africa to understand, talk about and advocate for strategic purchasing as a way to make better use of limited resources for universal health coverage (UHC). SPARC aims to develop the capacity of its members to hold decision-makers accountable for effective health spending. Together, we can make UHC a reality!
Join the movement!
They say, ‘dare to dream big dreams. Believe that you can do great things. Keep going until you achieve’. We couldn’t have done all this without you. As we step into year three, we encourage you to stay the course with us. The movement is growing! We need you on board. If you are looking to join the movement register your interest here.
