Following Cordaid’s intensive involvement in the Ethiopian health sector for the past seven years to advance the PBF agenda and strengthen the health system, as well as the successful implementation of PBF approach in the Borana and Jimma Zones, the FMoH in collaboration with Cordaid, designed a new PBF modality to address the key health system challenges, in Addis Ababa, Somali and SNNP regions with representation of Urban, Pastoralist, and Agrarian context respectively. The design will continue to employ a system-strengthening approach to address specific types of challenges in the health system. The project will be implemented from 2023 to 2026, with funding provided by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
With the expansion of the PBF approach and implementing the new PBF modality, selected health care professionals from various levels of the health system in the implementation regions were given a basic PBF training to lay the groundwork, highlight the basics, and build a common understanding of the PBF approach in order to facilitate and further support professionals who will be involved in the project’s implementation.
From May 15 to 19, 2023, basic PBF training was provided to the new PBF pilot project focal person (regulators) at the regional and zonal levels, as well as health care professionals from selected health facilities across the three implementation regions. The training was delivered in two sessions in Adama, Hawassa, and Jigjiga, with the first session Training of Trainers (ToT) for PBF regulators took place on May 15 and 16, 2023, and the second from May 17 to 19, which addressed health facility workers from the three PBF piloting regions.
The primary objective of the PBF TOT training for regulators at the regional, zonal, and woreda/sub city levels was to provide a comprehensive understanding of PBF implementation guidelines and to build a common understanding of the baseline assessment with the pilot project’s contracted external regulators from Addis Ababa University and Gondar University. The training featured presentations and group discussions on Health care financing in Ethiopia, PBF design, institutional arrangement, principles/elements, challenges in the health system, and addressed PBF quality and quantity assessment checklists and field visits to selected health facilities for PBF verification practices.
Similarly, the purpose of the PBF training for health facility staff was to equip selected health care professionals from the implementing regions with a basic understanding of the PBF guidelines. The training corresponded with presentations, and group discussions.
Ultimately, the training was a success, and all participants gained basic knowledge of the new PBF modality launched by the FMoH to support the effective execution of the MoH PBF pilot project, which aims to further expand the PBF approach to more areas of the country and assisted the strengthening of Ethiopia’s health care infrastructure.