The health sector strategic framework : a review : chapter 2

The Department of Health's 1999 - 2004 Strategic Framework focuses on accelerating quality health service delivery. This chapter addresses the broad question : Where does the Strategic Framework take us and are we getting there? It systematically reviews the situation pertaining to each of the ten components of the Framework and concludes that on the whole government is on track, but in a number of areas the pace will need to improve and the emergence of a ""policy to implementation gap"" be overcome. It suggests that the Department should not make the assumptions it does on financial resources, health personnel, management systems, co-operation by stakeholders and reversal of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, but should pro-actively address these and include them as part of its Framework. It also argues for a more concrete expression of the vision for the health system, both public and private, and for maximum attention to be given by top management to interventions that are key to overall acceleration.