Join A Learning Exchange on National Priority Setting for Health

A new learning exchange to discuss explicit processes for setting national health priorities is accepting applications to participate. The learning exchange is being hosted by the USAID Local Health System Sustainability Project (LHSS) in partnership with the Joint Learning Network for Universal Health Coverage (JLN) and is open to national policy makers in all low- and middle-income countries. The deadline to apply is September 6, 2021.

National priority setting -- sometimes called macro-level priority setting -- is an essential step in the strategic planning process for health and is usually led by the Ministry of Health. A strong national priority-setting process draws on analyses of population health needs and the strengths and weaknesses of the country’s health system to determine the most important objectives for a given period. By institutionalizing explicit national priority-setting processes that are transparent, inclusive, evidence-informed, equitable, and accountable, countries can ensure that health policies, strategies, and plans align with national health and development goals such as universal health coverage (UHC). This in turn helps direct scarce human, financial, and other resources towards population needs and achievement of national goals.

The new Institutionalizing Explicit Processes for Setting National Health Priorities Learning Exchange will bring together a group of country practitioners actively engaging in explicit national priority setting. They will exchange experiences, share successes and challenges, and draw out lessons learned from their efforts so far to institutionalize these processes; countries are welcome to participate regardless of how far along they are on the path to institutionalization. A facilitation team from the LHSS Project will work with the group to capture promising practices in a resource that can be used by other countries. Focused technical assistance to support institutionalization of explicit national priority-setting processes will be available for two participating countries.

The learning exchange will run from September 2021-March 2022. Country teams will be expected to participate in one-to-one learning sessions with the facilitation team, two virtual plenary meetings, and a final virtual event. They will also help co-develop a global resource by describing their experiences during country outreach and virtual meetings.

Any low- or middle-income country may apply for this learning exchange. Selection for participation will depend on criteria such as demonstrated progress in institutionalizing explicit processes for setting national health priorities, the country team’s fit with the desired participant profiles (e.g., Ministry of Health officials engaged in national priority setting), and USAID policies.  For more information about the learning exchange, click here.