Report Release - HealthCLIR: Uganda

The U.S. Agency for International Development BizCLIR project is pleased to announce the publication of the “HealthCLIR: Uganda” report. Through guided analysis, this report provides specific recommendations for donors, the government, and stakeholders to help reduce regulatory inefficiencies and improve investment in the private health sector in order to strengthen the quality, quantity, and dispersion of health services and goods throughout urban and rural Uganda.

Building on the 2008 BizCLIR Uganda Agenda for Action, this assessment specifically looks at five subject matter areas impacting the private health sector: Delivering Goods (supply chain for pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, and devices); Developing Human Capacity; Accessing Finance; Providing and Maintaining Facilities, and Governing the System.

A six-member team of international consultants, facilitated by a member of the Ugandan health community, conducted over 120 interviews with local stakeholders in the private health system, including public and private health service providers, governmental and quasi-governmental facility and health professional regulators, bankers, pharmacists and medical goods importers and producers, educators, legal professionals, health policy professionals, consumer groups, and others to examine the Legal Framework, Implementing and Supporting Institutions, and Social Dynamics surrounding each subject matter area.

The findings from the diagnostic point to a system that appears strong on paper but is lacking in implementation. The greatest needs for regulatory reform exist in the subject matter areas of Governing the System and Accessing Finance, while the regulatory framework for Delivering Goods throughout Uganda was the strongest. The diagnostic found that the Legal Framework for all five subject matter areas was relatively strong; however, the institutions charged with implementing or enforcing the Legal Framework were weak.