The SAHCD Coalition: Improving Health Care Systems In Southern Africa

The IntraHealth-led Southern Africa Human Capacity Development (SAHCD) Coalition is improving the health workforce productivity through facilitated quality improvement interventions, pre- and in-service training as well as strengthening result-oriented leadership in Southern Africa.  SAHCD has also adopted a web-based information system to monitor and evaluate the progress of health facilities in Southern Africa. Aspects of this work were presented at the 46th East, Central and Southern African (ECSA) Conference of Health Ministers.

SAHCD adopted CoQis, a web-based information system that provides users with access to current compliance data relating to health facilities, for use in Swaziland and Lesotho. By manipulating the data in CoQis, SAHCD and hospital staff can produce reports showing the results of baseline studies, the current compliance status of the hospitals, any necessary improvements, and service elements that need immediate attention. This information can help health facilities monitor their own progress, identify what they need to accomplish to reach accreditation standards and prepare for accreditation surveys. SAHCD is also using CoQis to monitor and evaluate the Coalition’s interventions in health facilities. 

SAHCD's integrated health facility interventions include a quality improvement and quality assurance program, workplace policy programs, training programs and Management Sciences for Health’s  Leadership Development Program (LDP).  SAHCD supported the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) Hospital to improve their service delivery through the LDP, along with a quality assurance program, operational policy sensitizing and clinical skills training. This improvement in service delivery led to the RFM Hospital tying with the Valenzuela Medical Centre, in the Philippines, for first place for the MSH 2008 Leadership and Management Award.

Members of the SAHCD Coalition were invited to give two presentations at the ECSA Conference of Health Ministers, held February 25-29, 2008, at Mahe, in the Seychelles. One presentation focused on improving human resources for effective health care in Swaziland using the RFM Hospital as a case study.  The presentation highlighted how the RFM Hospital has adopted best practices and integrated SAHCD interventions in quality improvement, leadership and management, policy and planning, pre-service and in-service training, and performance improvement to offer integrated health services.  The other presentation covered strengthening monitoring and evaluation systems. It explored how CoQis provides access to compliance data relating to health facilities and enables facilities to monitor and improve the quality of health care.