7. Pillars of the Health System

TEHIP is a partnership between Tanzania's Ministry of Health and the International Development Research Centre of Canada. The project was established to determine the feasibility of an evidence-based approach to health planning at the district level. Testing the premise of the World Bank's (1993) World Development Report 1993: Investing in Health, TEHIP enabled district health planners in two of Tanzania's 117 districts to collect and use burden-of-disease and cost-effectiveness data to get the best value for money from national investments in health. Interventions included door-to-door collection of data and training or technical support for managers in the analysis and use of the data for decision making. TEHIP districts allocated services to high-burden diseases, resulting in a tripling of clinic utilization rates and increased treatment effectiveness. With a per capita increase in spending of only US$0.80, district health managers achieved a 47 percent reduction in child mortality rates.

Source: DCP2, chapter 54, p. 1026.