The Government of Botswana, with technical support from WHO has embarked on a two week joint review of five health programmes, namely, Community and Home Based Care (CHBC), Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART), Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI), Tuberculosis (TB) and a situational analysis on Viral Hepatitis Prevention and Control. This is the first ever joint review of this magnitude in the African Region.

The review comes in the wake of the coming to an end of four current programme plans and the need to establish baseline and make recommendations for Hepatitis Prevention and Control. It aims to assess the extent to which the programmes are performing in relation to national and international objectives and targets as well as make recommendations for improvement in programme performance and impact. The assessment will focus on implementation of activities at community, facility, district and national levels, and will also consider policy, strategic and operational issues.

Overall the review will:

i. Assess progress and capacity towards reaching national health sector targets for these programmes as articulated in the respective national strategic plans

ii. Explore the level of integration of management and services between ARV, CHBC, STI and TB Programs at all levels and with other stakeholders

iii. Assess decentralization of service delivery and synergies with other health Programs such as Maternal and Child Health, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Non-Communicable Diseases, among others.

iv. Evaluate collaboration and engagement of stakeholders including NGOs, CSOs, affected communities and other government sectors

v. Assess the quality and effectiveness of ARV, CHBC, STI and TB services and the extent to which service delivery of these programmes is in line with respective SDG targets

vi. Assess the existing capacities and challenges in implementing priority interventions and to propose options for further strengthening of cross-cutting systems for service delivery

vii. Analyze current sources and levels of funding for these programmes and the extent to which they are sustainable.

viii. Conduct a baseline situational analysis for Hepatitis prevention and control services and make appropriate recommendations for the development of a comprehensive national plan.

The review is being steered by a technical task team from the Ministry of Health and Wellness with technical support of the World Health Organization in collaboration with USAID, KNCV and International Council of Nurses (ICN).

The review will follow the WHO Health Systems approach which focuses on six pillars namely: Leadership and Governance, Health Financing, Human Resources for Health, Service Delivery, Health Infrastructure, Laboratories and Pharmaceuticals and lastly Strategic Information. In addition, community systems and linkages will also be assessed for each of the programmes.

The review process was commissioned by the Deputy Permanent Secretary for Preventive Health Services, Dr Haruna Jibril. Four teams composed of internal and external experts drawn from the Ministry of Health and Wellness and partner institutions will collect data which along with desk reviews of already available information will inform the recommendations of the review. The field work will span a period of two weeks.