Piloting the implementation of the Pakistan Essential Package of Health Services (EPHS) is a priority for the Disease Control Priorities 3 Country Translation (DCP3 CT) project. In May 2023, a decision was made by the Ministry of Health, Sindh Province and the DCP3 CT to pilot the provincial EPHS in one of the Sindh provinces. The decision was encouraged by the Federal Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). The Tando Allahyar (TAY) district was selected as the pilot area. The pilot will be a major part of the government’s initiatives to accelerate progress towards universal health coverage and health system strengthening.
As a foundational and critical starting step, a collaboration was established with the Ministry of Health, DCP3 and Aga Khan University (AKU) to conduct an initial assessment and preparation phase aiming to review the health system in the pilot district, map existing health services, analyse the financing mechanisms, identify current gaps and challenges, review and further prioritise the provincial EPHS interventions, recommend health system strengthening measures, and propose how the pilot will be implemented and funded. This report provides an overview of the assessment conducted by the Sindh Department of Health (DOH) in collaboration with the Disease Control Priorities 3 Country Translation initiative, the Aga Khan University and other partners, in preparation for the pilot phase of the project in the Tando Allahyar district.
The assessment and preparatory phase have been funded by the DCP3 Country Translation project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The work was implemented in partnership with the Department of Health, Sindh Province, AKU and other partners, such as ThinkWell and Acasus, both already partnering with the Department of Health and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on health system strengthening tasks.
The report is available here.
Health Department, Government of Sindh, DCP3 Country Translation Project, Aga Khan University. Piloting the implementation of the Sindh Essential Package of Health Services in the Tando Allahyar District: Report on the Initial Assessment Phase for the Implementation of the Sindh EPHS Pilot. 2023