The universal health coverage system, which officially came into force on January 1, 2025, is starting off with a small anomaly: the delay in implementing the inclusive access to healthcare infrastructure program.
In particular, the recruitment of consultants and the roll-out of training initiatives to support the Project Management Unit (PMU) in setting up efficient administrative and financial management and implementation in line with the program’s environmental and social requirements.
According to the AfDB evaluation, published on December 26, no half-yearly technical and financial execution report has yet been drawn up for the program, as activities have not yet begun. No report on implementation of the program’s environmental and social action plan has been drawn up either, as recruitment of the consultant for environmental and social support and training had not yet been completed.
According to the AfDB, “ the Ministry of Health and Social Protection is taking too long to take the necessary steps to recruit consultants and begin activities, in particular to draw up the operating procedures required for the project to run smoothly”.
The Bank also points out that the delay in project execution is due to the fact that “consultations for the recruitment of consultants are taking too long, and this risks compromising the timely execution of the grant”.
To avoid this risk, the Ministry was asked to draw up a new action plan, to be submitted by December 31 at the latest. A tool designed to speed up the process of building the institutional capacities of the human resources concerned in the field of project management, where four actions have already been launched.
The first is to complete the recruitment of an environmental and social consultant to finish the training courses for E&S managers, PMU members and regional E&S focal points on the E&S requirements of the ISS and on project E&S management and monitoring procedures and techniques. To date, only 50% of the target group (10) have actually been trained.
Aziz DIOUF
