The USAID-sponsored Libya Public Financial Management Program (LPFM/Bab Al-Tamkeen) conducted a virtual workshop on October 11 on the Operational Plan for primary health care (PHC) within the municipality of Gharyan. The plan aims to improve the efficiency of the delivery of a basic health service package and to give the municipalities operational and supervisory roles in the management of primary healthcare services. It also outlines primary healthcare coverage standards and performance improvement indicators to improve the cost efficiency of the proposed package.
The workshop participants also discussed a Public Investment Plan (PIP) for primary healthcare services. Bab Al Tamkeen is verifying the cost-effectiveness of different long-term investments for improving healthcare services, through the evaluation of primary care services in six pilot municipalities. The pilots include Gharyan, South Zawiya, Misurata, Tripoli-Center, Brega, and Sabha, and they were selected according to geographical factors, the impact of the population census on service levels, and the degree of homogeneity in the delivery of health services.
The workshop addressed the first phase of the Operational Plan, including how municipality staff and regional health directorate staff at the pilots should collect and document data on primary health services delivered in the selected PHC clinics, determine infrastructure readiness, monitor medicine and medical supplies, authenticate services provided, and classify patient data. LPFM also presented in the workshop how adjustments were made to include suggested basic Covid-19 treatment at the primary healthcare level, such as potentially providing PCR testing kits and personal protective equipment.
The second phase of the implementation of the Operational Plan will address the gradual transfer of primary healthcare services management to the six municipalities, supervision of the consumption of medicines and other medical supplies, development of the patient database, preparation of structured expenditure reports, preparation of cost structure study, monitoring of staff performance on service delivery indicators and evaluation of clinic readiness according to service coverage criteria.
LPFM /Bab Al Tamkeen is a 5-year initiative of USAID in Libya, implemented by the Pragma Corporation. It provides technical assistance and capacity building at national and municipal levels to strengthen Libya’s public financial management, revitalize the electricity sector, improve the delivery of key public services, and stimulate job and private sector growth.
