Partnership for Transforming Health Systems

The overall goal of PATHS is improving the health status of poor Nigerians, measured in terms of progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The purpose is to improve the delivery and use of effective, replicable, pro-poor health services for the management of priority health conditions. This is through four key outputs:

> Strengthened government stewardship in health policy, planning and financing

> Improved systems for effective management of health services in public and non-public state sectors

> Better quality preventive and curative services established for common health problems and made more accessible to the poor

> Consumers of health services aware of their entitlement to good quality, affordable health care and better able to prevent and manage priority health conditions themselves.

Decision making and governance of PATHS supported initiatives is assured through visionary leadership of multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary Steering Committees, membership of which cuts across all sectors, including private and public. No other parallel structures are established. Implementation is integrated into existing health development and reform initiatives.

A consistent and comprehensive focus is maintained through adhering to four themes. A modular package of support is available that can be adapted in a flexible manner, agreed in 6 monthly work plans, depending on the opportunities emerging, determined by the context and DFID's overall engagement with different states. This facilitates complementary and collaborative work with other programs and projects. The package of support has been designed in such a way to allow for state wide roll-out; an objective that for some of the PATHS initiatives, is achievable within the current program timeframe.

PATHS (Partnership for Transforming Health Systems) started programmatic activities in September 2002. The contract was significantly revised in July 2004 to allow implementation of new directions, agreed in November 2003 following an inception review (Joint inception review with SLGP (State and Local Government Programme) and A2J (Access to Justice)).

1. The end date of PATHS programme is May 2007.

2. 71% of the expenditure is on activities, 21% on staff costs,

and 8% on operational running.

3. 76% of initiative expenditures are by state teams, and 24%

by the national team.

Strategies, Uniqueness & Workings