Resources

The Health Pooled Fund on the International Day of the African Child 2023, represented by Public Health Specialist – Wani Silas  – discussed cross-cutting issues affecting African children’s well-being. These issues include health, education and cyber protection. Click the link to listen to the recording of the live show on Eye Radio’s Dawn Show – supported by the European Union in South Sudan: https://lnkd.in/eN4STAUc

This edition of the Health Pooled Fund Safeguarding Bulletin highlights workplace friendships and how they may affect the implementation of safeguarding policies.

A snapshot of the immunisation statistics at the Health Pooled Fund and the accomplishments in immunisation coverage between 2022 and 2023.

This is a Health Pooled Fund thought leadership article on the Tickler File System. The Tickler File System is an innovative tech solution developed by Crown Agents to reduce the incidence of immunisation defaulters through defaulter tracing and a referral mechanism. Download the article and read about this system that has been launched in 20 health facilities in Juba County.

HPF – The Tickler File System

This bulletin highlights the importance of development organisations and NGO’s conducting safeguarding awareness in the communities where they operate.

HPF Safeguarding Bulletin 09

People with disability should be involved in activities to sensitise people in their communities about the challenges they face in creating a more inclusive society. Listen to a panel discussing innovative ways to improve access to healthcare for people with disabilities, on Shai with the European Union – a programme on Eye Radio.

This is a recording of a discussion about social inclusion for people with disability in South Sudan. The Health Pooled Fund (HPF) Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) specialist – Doreen Drani, with other guests on Eye Radio’s ‘Shai with the European Union’, delves into some barriers impeding access to healthcare for people with disability.

The HPF programme, funding organisations like USAID, policymakers – Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare, South Sudan Union of Persons with Disabilities and other implementing partners are providing transformative solutions for inclusive development in the health sector.

Edition 8 of the Health Pooled Fund Safeguarding Bulletin is a reminder that we should report all safeguarding concerns immediately. Do not wait to be sure, report now.

This handout summarises the World Vision and Health Pooled Fund programme to expand access to family planning services in Western Equatoria State, South Sudan. The project recorded an improved contraceptive prevalence rate in Western Equatoria State from 4.7% in 2018 to 15% in 2022.

The community outreaches and shared testimonials show mindsets changing regarding family planning – “Initially, if someone was to ask my wife to go [attend a family planning session], I would not allow [it] because  I had so many misconceptions, now I know that family planning is good,” says a male program participant.

Outcomes of the programme were presented at the global International Conference on Family Planning held at Pattaya City, Kingdom of Thailand in November 2022.

World Vision Family Planning Handout

Download Audio

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This edition of the safeguarding bulletin puts the spotlight on disability inclusive safeguarding and the ills of abuse of power.

Health Pooled Fund Safeguarding Bulletin – Edition 6

Universal health coverage and Sustainable Development Goal 3 will not be achieved unless health systems are created to reach every community, including those in the hardest to reach and most complex regions.

No where is this more of a challenge than in South Sudan. Consistently ranked top five on the Fragile States Index – political, economic, social and geographical barriers prevent at least half of the population from accessing essential health services. Working to change that is the Boma Health Care Initiative.

A latest analysis report details how the Initiative is creating stronger linkages between remote, under-resourced communities and the national health system.

The-Boma-Health-Initiative-1

This is a compilation of case studies and success stories for the period April 2020 to March 2021, which is the second programme year of implementation of the third phase of the Health Pooled Fund South Sudan (HPF3). HPF3 is a five-year, multi-donor programme led by the British Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and including the Government of Canada, the Swedish International Development and Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), GAVI – The Vaccine Alliance and the European Union (EU). HPF3 began in October 2018 and will end in October 2023, with an annual budget of approximately £70 million.

Health Pooled Fund Supply Chain Bulletin for the Month of July 2021

Health Pooled Fund Supply Chain Bulletin for the Month of June 2021

Health Pooled Fund Supply Chain Bulletin for the Month of March 2021.

The priority-setting process in the context of the Health Pooled Fund (HPF) is challenged by data limitations, minimal stewardship of the Ministry of Health (MoH) and competing interests among donors, HPF management, MoH, local authorities and implementing partners. Realities on the ground, such as conflict and a lack of human and financial resources, determine priority-setting and lead to differences in service provision across HPF implementing areas. South Sudan and the HPF could benefit from available tools and capacity development to make priority-setting more systematic, transparent, rational and fair.

This bi-weekly bulletin is designed for and by media partners, journalists and other interested stakeholders in South Sudan reporting and working on COVID-19, and other  related health and development challenges. It shares citizen concerns on COVID-19 and the humanitarian response, provides verified information about health measures of the Ministry of Health and partners and profiles trustworthy (re)sources and responses. It also shares citizen concerns on COVID-19 and the humanitarian response.

Health Pooled Fund Supply Chain Bulletin for the Month of November 2020

Health Pooled Fund Supply Chain Bulletin for the Month of October 2020

The Health Pooled Fund (HPF) supports the Boma Health Initiative (BHI) by training Boma Health Workers (BHWs) to deliver a standardised, integrated basic package of promotional, preventive, and selected curative health services focusing on child health. BHWs also act as an extension of basic health services between the nearest health facility and the Bomas.

This is second tool developed by HPF  South Sudan. The job aid gives directions on how to maintain hygiene standards while taking Covid-19 prevention measures into consideration. It also further gives direction on how to handle patients with flu like symptoms at home, and if need be for further referral to a health facility.

Press Release
Working in partnership with the Ministry of Health, donors are providing essential medicines and supporting more than 10,000 health workers in 1,000 facilities across the country. From treating common diseases and  helping women give birth safely to vaccinating children against preventable illness and improving nutrition services – this vital work is saving  countless lives every day.

But COVID-19 represents a grave risk to people in South Sudan and threatens to disrupt the progress made. It is the  biggest international health crisis we’ve seen in generations and requires a decisive, evidence-based and coordinated response that builds on the strong foundations that have been laid.

Authors: Heads of Mission:
United Kingdom: UK Ambassador to South Sudan, Chris Trott
Canada: Canada Head of Mission, Douglas Scott Proudfoot
European Union: European Union Ambassador to South Sudan, Dr Sinead Walsh
Sweden: Sweden HoM Urban Sjöström

GAVI: Patience Musanhu, Gavi South Sudan Senior Country Manager
United States Agency for International Development in South Sudan

The Health Pooled Fund (HPF) supports the Boma Health Initiative (BHI) by training Boma Health Workers (BHWs) to deliver a standardised, integrated basic package of promotional, preventive, and selected curative health services focusing on child health. BHWs also act as an extension of basic health services between the nearest health facility and the Bomas.

HPF has developed a  job aid in line with the approved risk communication in South Sudan. The job aid explains in detail the five steps one needs to take to protect themselves against Coronavirus.

To reach majority of communities in South Sudan with Covid-19 risk communication, HPF has partnered with the Ministry of Health and SIL International to translate the approved risk communication posters into several South Sudanese languages, and distributed the same. This is one of the strategies adopted by HPF to ensure preparedness within communities in South Sudan.

Despite the history of conflict in South Sudan, community health programmes such as integrated community case management for communicable diseases and neglected tropical diseases have been successful.

Read more in the HPF policy brief on community health interventions in South Sudan

Health Pooled Fund Annual Newsletter 2019. Accounts of our successes, challenges and lessons learnt between January to December 2019.

Health Pooled Fund Supply Chain Bulletin for the Month of February 2020

Health Pooled Fund Supply Chain Bulletin for the month of January 2020

Health Pooled Fund Supply Chain Bulletin for the month of December 2019

Crown Agents Limited as the leader of the consortium managing the HPF, invites bidders (Consultants) for the implementation of a household health survey to provide data for a baseline and tracking of six (6) key health indicators as described in Table 1 of the Terms of Reference,  using the Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) method in eight (8) of the ten (10) former states of the Republic of South Sudan.

This is a full and open competitive invitation for bids, under which any type of organisation, large or small, commercial (for profit) firms, faith-based, and non-profit organisations, either independently, or in partnership or consortia, is eligible to participate. Nonetheless, HPF encourages partnership with local, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), faith-based organisations (FBOs) and community-based organisations (CBOs) in order to build local capacity and ensure long term sustainability, however this is not a requirement.

Health Pooled Fund Supply Chain Bulletin for the month of October 2019

There has been an increasing drive to demonstrate value for money (VfM) for investments made in public health globally. However, there is paucity of information on practical insights and best practices that have helped implementing organisations to successfully embed VfM in practice for programming and evaluation.
In this article, HPF discusses strengths and weaknesses of approaches that been used and insights on best practices to manage for, demonstrate, and compare VfM, using a health pooled fund programme implemented in conflict-affected South Sudan as case study supported by evidence reported in the literature while critiquing adequacy of the available approaches in this setting.
An expanded and iterative process framework to guide VfM embedding for health programming and evaluation is then proposed. In doing so, this article provides a very relevant one-stop source for critical insight into how to embed VfM in practice. Uptake and scale-up of the proposed framework can be essential in improving VfM and aid effectiveness which will ultimately contribute to progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Click here for more information. 

This quarter marked the start of implementation phase of HPF3 with 13 implementing partners (IPs) contracted to support 792 health facilities in 55 counties. The programme further assisted an additional 10 health facilities with drug kits in Abyei (Special Administrative Area) to bring the total number of health facilities to 802. The period April – June 2019 was a period of transition and development in which HPF put processes in place and IPs settled in the different counties and dealt with immediate issues.

With the IPs in post, HPF3 began supporting the delivery of the HPF supported services at facilities and in in the community.

This quarterly newsletter details some of our success stories during the period between April to June 2019.

HPF Supply Chain Bulletin for the month of August 2019

Health Pooled Fund Supply Chain Bulletin – July 2019

This Family Planning Policy has been aligned to the National SRH Strategic Plan 2012-2016 and Health sector Development plan 2012-2016. The Policy will provide the framework and necessary guidance for the promotion and implementation of family planning programmes and services in the country. Within the context of overall reproductive health service delivery, the ultimate aim of this policy is to enhance the provision of comprehensive family planning services to all people in South Sudan and contribute to the reduction of maternal and infant mortality. The government expects that this policy will contribute to the achievement of MDGs 4 (reducing child mortality rates), 5 (improving maternal health) and 6 (combating HIV/AIDS), as anchored in South Sudan’s Constitution.

This family planning (FP) technical strategy for Health Pooled Fund 3 (HPF3) is developed to last from 2019-2023. These guidelines are developed with clear objectives to enhance delivery of integrated health services through a network of HPF supported health facilities.Implementation of the FP component under HPF3 is carried out within the context of the health systems strengthening framework.

This training package is meant to equip teams at various levels with competencies to manage Quality Improvement activities at various levels including constituting Quality Improvement Teams, conducting Quality of Care assessments, identification of quality improvement areas and developing rolling plans to address the areas of problems. The package is aimed at teams at National Level- Ministry of Health, Health Pooled Fund staff and other partners; Sub National Level –State Ministries of Health, County Health Departments, Implementing Partners; Quality Focal persons at different levels; and Quality Improvements Teams from the health facilities.

The Health Sector Quality Improvement Framework was developed by the MoH with active support and participation of various stakeholders and experts involved in QI locally and internationally. These included: service providers, programme managers, Development Partners (DP), International Quality Improvement experts, and CSOs in the health sector. These provided technical support and relevant strategic information for the framework. The document is still a draft pending approval by the MOH.

This is the HPF 3 Quality of Care strategy for 2019 to 2013. The strategy document provides a background on the HPF 2 Quality of Care (QoC) initiatives, HPF 2 QoC monitoring tools, Quality of Care Assessments, and the South Sudan Health Sector Quality Improvement Framework and Strategic Plan. The strategy spells out the objectives, programme indicators for monitoring quality improvement outcomes, organizational structure to monitor improvements in quality of care, monitoring quality improvements, capacity building measures required for QoC improvements and the quality of care implementation plan.