Summary

The Health Policy Project builds and strengthens the capacity of government to design, negotiate, and manage hospital public-private partnerships (PPPs), and the capacity of local private sector organizations to partner with the government in the delivery of high-quality health services.

Program goals

The Health Policy Project (HPP) is working to sustain growth in the private health sector by building the capacity of local organizations to provide high-quality health services. We also strengthen the government’s capacity to oversee and finance the nation’s health systems and build stronger relationships between public and private health sectors. HPP programs seek to integrate gender equality principles throughout the health sector, making health services more equitable, with a focus on improving the health of women and girls.

Key program components

The Afghanistan HPP program operates through its' main aims to:

Improve Policy Environment: The program helps coordinate processes for establishing operating standards for private hospitals and health centers to ensure they provide high-quality services.

Strengthen Health Financing: HPP assistance strengthens the MoPH's capacity to analyze the cost and impact of expanding health programs. In turn, decision makers can use this information to develop priorities in the national health program and maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of resources across the entire health sector, ultimately enhancing the quality and availability of healthcare.

Build the Capacity of Private Sector Health Organizations: HPP builds the management, operational, and advocacy capacities of private sector hospitals, health associations, and medical professional groups. This also enables private sector organizations to strengthen their partnership with the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in expanding health services throughout the country.

Address Gender Disparities in Health Services: HPP support strengthens the government's capacity to implement the new National Gender strategy, which is essential in making health services more equitable for men and women, and helps improve the health of women and girls. We also provide technical assistance to improve the government's capacity to monitor their progress in delivering gender-sensitive health programming aimed at reaching more women with basic healthcare.

Improve the Policy Environment for HIV Prevention, Care, and Treatment: While overall HIV prevalence in Afghanistan is low, the growing number of people who inject drugs, with a significantly higher HIV prevalence, underscores the importance of ensuring that HIV remains high on Afghanistan's policy agenda. Through its support to the HIV and AIDS Coordination Committee of Afghanistan, HPP activities help strengthen the stewardship role of the National AIDS Control Programme to coordinate HIV programs and create a supportive policy environment that enable the improvement of HIV prevention, care, and treatment services.