DO: Health Reform Support (APL)

closed

The Health Reform Support Program Project (APL) for the Dominican Republic aims to contribute to achieve by the year 2015 the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) agreed to by the Government of the Dominican Republic at the Millennium Summit in September 2000. Specifically, the APL would address three MDG goals: reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, and contribute to eradicate extreme poverty by protecting the poorest from financial loss due to ill health and disability. The project also aims to support implementation of the new legal framework for the health sector, and support preparation, validation and dissemination of supplementary norms and regulations to the General Health Law (42-01) and the Social Security Law (87 -01). The APL will implement three components in three phases. A fourth component will manage implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and assess changes that would trigger the decision to continue to the next phase or to change action for improving performance, or in the last resort, to cancel the operation. Component 1 extends health service coverage in three priority regions using the national health insurance financing mechanism to deliver a basic health plan of essential health services, particularly MCH services; strengthens the clinical problem-solving capabilities of the primary health care units (UNAPS) as well as the hospitals at the secondary and tertiary care levels, improves the quality of medical care provided, and ensures a functioning referral system; applies national norms to improve physical infrastructure; and develops integrated and decentralized health care networks at the regional levels. Component 2 implements health sector reform legislation. Component 3 improves selected essential public health functions to promote and protect the health of the population.