Date:
March 9th, 3:15pm – 5:20pm EAT
Venue:
AHAIC 2021 Virtual Conference
Two years after the SPARC launch, what has changed in the landscape of strategic health purchasing (SHP) on the continent? This session will unpack the gaps/challenges experienced by countries and SPARC’s efforts to generate evidence and develop the expertise at bridging these gaps. The session will include:
- A spoken word performance to introduce the session
- An introductory presentation focusing on the functional capacities needed to drive progress on strategic purchasing
- Presentation findings of a mapping exercise undertaken in 10 sub-Saharan African countries through the SPARC Technical Partners (TPs) Consortium
- A fireside chat with key policymakers to provide framing on progress and challenges affecting the institutionalization of SHP
- A moderated Q&A session – featuring policymakers and technical experts – open to all participants
- Conclude the session and reflect on key messages
Panelists
Dr. Parfait Uwaliraye
Head of Planning, M&E and Health Financing Department in the Ministry of Health, Rwanda
Dr Parfait Uwaliraye is the Head of Planning, M&E and Health Financing Department in the Ministry of Health, Rwanda a position he has held since November 2012. Dr Uwaliraye is a medical doctor with a Master’s degree in Public Health. He worked as a Research Assistant, a District Medical Officer and the director of Kibagabaga District Hospital prior to joining the Ministry of Health. He has a particular focus health policy, planning, health financing, private sector engagement and global health.
Dr Nneka Orji
Technical Advisor on Health Financing to the Minister of State for Health, Nigeria
,
Dr Nneka Orji is a policymaker working for the federal government of Nigerian the health sector. She is the Technical Advisor on Health financing, to the Minister of State for Health in Nigeria. She originally trained as a medical doctor and practised clinical medicine for a few years before moving into public health, where she has supervised several projects and travelled to over 25 countries around the world. She is currently enrolled as a PhD candidate at the Menzies School of Medical Research, University of Tasmania. Besides studying, Dr Orji loves hiking.
Nathaniel Otoo
Senior Fellow, Results for Development,
Nathaniel Otoo is a Health Systems & Public Policy Consultant and a Senior Fellow at Results for Development Institute. He was the founding Executive Director of the Strategic Purchasing Africa Resource Centre (SPARC) hosted at Amref Health Africa in Nairobi, Kenya. He has over 11-years of work experience in health insurance implementation and served as CEO of Ghana’s National Health Insurance Authority from 2015 to 2017. Nathaniel has contributed to and supported numerous global, regional and local UHC activities and events. A founding member of the JLN, and later its first convener, Nathaniel is a member of the Duke University Launch & Scale Speedometer Advisory Board. He also serves on several other boards.
Agnes Gatome-Munyua
Senior Program Officer, Results For Development
Agnes Gatome-Munyua is a senior program officer at Results for Development where she works on the Health Systems Strengthening Accelerator, the Joint Learning Network for Universal Health Coverage’s Provider Payment Mechanisms technical initiative and the Strategic Purchasing Africa Resource Center as a technical facilitator on collaborative learning activities. On SPARC she has coordinated the evidence generation activities with the consortium of technical partners including the Strategic Health Purchasing Functional Mapping of purchasing arrangements in nine Sub-Saharan countries.
S Pierre Yameogo
MD, public health specialist, Technical Secretary in charge of the Universal Health Coverage and One Health at the Ministry of Health of Burkina Faso
S Pierre Yameogo is a medical doctor, public health specialist and Technical Secretary in charge of universal health coverage and One Health at the Ministry of Health in Burkina Faso. He supports the effective coordination of interventions, promoting strategic purchasing mechanisms within the country’s Ministry of Health.
Moderators
Dr Nkechi Olalere
Executive Director, SPARC
Dr Nkechi Olalere is the Executive Director of Strategic Purchasing Africa Resource Center (SPARC) and steers SPARC’s vision of empowering countries with knowledge and practical tools to make access to affordable and quality health care a reality for all.
Nkechi has over sixteen years’ experience in health financing implementation. Before joining the development sector, she served as a C-suite executive in various health insurance firms operating the National Health Insurance Scheme and private health insurance plans in Nigeria. She is passionate about strategic purchasing, especially provider payment reforms, several of which she led in the private health insurance space. Nkechi’s experience in the private and public sectors gives her an interesting perspective into health system strengthening.
Nkechi is the chair of Africa Union’s (AU) Tracker sub-committee tasked with developing indicators and measures of progress for ‘More Health for the Money’. This work is an input into the domestic health financing tracker, which will complement the Africa Scorecard on Domestic Financing for Health and enable AU Member States to track progress on domestic financing, including its efficient and effective allocation and use. She has recently been appointed into the newly formed Global Financing Facility Results Advisory Group.
Cheryl Cashin
Managing Director, Results For Development
Cheryl Cashin, PhD, is a Managing Director at Results for Development in the global health practice. In that role she co-leads a portfolio of more than 20 projects and initiatives in global health systems, and she serves on R4D’s executive team. Dr. Cashin has led several initiatives at R4D that aim to build new models of support for countries to address complex health system issues. She designed the Provider Payment Mechanisms technical initiative of the Joint Learning Network for Universal Health Coverage (JLN) and has led the initiative since it was launched in 2011, and She is currently leading R4D's technical support to Strategic Purchasing Africa Resource Center (SPARC) in partnership with Amref Health Africa.