Moroke Sekoboto
HEALTH Minister Selibe Mochoboroane has pledged to transform his ministry by enforcing greater accountability and coordination and to ensure better health delivery outcomes for Basotho.
He has also pledged to introduce performance contracts to key health ministry staff to ensure they perform their tasks as expected.
According to Mr Mochoboroane, more coordination was required to align the ministry’s programs with those of donor agencies for better outcomes.
He said this at a meeting called to discuss the alignment of donor projects with the ministry’s endeavours at Lancer’s Inn in Maseru last week.
Mr Mochoboroane also promised to introduce performance contracts for senior and district-level officials in his ministry to ensure they deliver on their mandates.
The meeting was held in collaboration with donors USAID and PEPFAR together with the Ministry of Health implementing partner, FHI 360, with the aim to ensure accountability and coordination between ministry officials at the national and local levels and the donors.
Present were the World Health Organization (WHO) Lesotho Team and Policy Research and Integrated Service Delivery Advisor, Dr Mesfin Zbelo and USAID Acting Country Director, Ian Membe.
Mr Mochoboroane declared that under his leadership, the ministry would transform from a mere recipient of donor support with no improved health outcomes and zero accountability to a viable entity meeting the health needs of more than two million Basotho.
Mr Mochoboroane wants his ministry to vigorously transform the health delivery system in the country for the better, hence the need to enter into performance contracts with key staff.
He envisions a ministry that takes the lead, accounts for its actions and progress, and promotes universal health coverage through integrated services, provision, and programming.
“We meet today to discuss donor coordination, programme integration, programme alignment and accountability for improved health outcomes,” Mr Mochoboroane said.
“We meet under the banner of two projects led by Family Health International 360 (FHI 360), which are Sustainable Epidemic Control Through Unified Prevention (SECURE) and Health System Strengthening (HSS) projects. The two projects in practical terms can be merged into one, creating a robust health system that functions effectively.”
The purpose of the USAID funded SECURE project is to reach the general population and key populations (KP) with health prevention interventions and while the HSS project engages local accountable entities to provide the necessary technical services and support to the Ministry of Health (MoH) and other partners/stakeholders.
The health minister further stated that a strong health system was necessary to achieve HIV prevention and other positive health outcomes.
“However, it is essential that the MoH leads the way in setting a direction regarding the implementation and monitoring the progress of these projects. These projects are vertical because MoH needs to improve and prioritise donor coordination and accountability for improved health outcomes,” Mr Mochoboroane stated.
Mr Mochoboroane asserted that donor coordination and accountability were essential for achieving better outcomes, hence should not be considered problematic.
“It is a challenge within the MoH to acknowledge that overcoming a challenge translates acceptance to seek the solution. I have accepted the challenge of immediately and effectively addressing poor donor coordination and accountability in the health sector,” he said.
“My team has also accepted this challenge, and we commit to work with and through our partners to correct this historical wrong. Improving accountability and coordination in the health sector is not just a procedural necessity, it is a moral imperative.”
?The health minister acknowledged that Basotho relied on and expected political leaders to deliver concrete results.
Thus, the minister stressed that officials owed it to the public and their development partners to ensure every resource was used efficiently and every intervention achieved its intended impact.
“This meeting is our first attempt towards improving donor coordination and integrated programming in the health sector. This meeting is a testament to the MoH’s collective commitment to ownership and leadership, participation and accountability for improved health outcomes. It reflects our determination to create a stronger partnership for improved results with our donors, USAID, PEPFAR and our implementing partner FHI 360,” Mr Mochoboroane said.
Mr Mochoboroane emphasized that his ministry’s partnership with donors must prioritize transparency, collaboration, and accountability to drive improved results.
“This meeting has three key objectives,” he added. “First, we aim to provide the Ministry of Health with a clear understanding of the full scope and intricacies of the SECURE and HSS projects, ensuring the ministry can effectively lead their successful implementation. Our hope is to extract valuable lessons that will guide future programming and implementation.
“Secondly, we must reaffirm the ministry’s leadership and accountability role in ensuring the success of these projects for improved results. Lastly, we must share the ministry’s HSS priorities to guide our programming for the financial year and strategic direction to our cooperating partners. Through today’s programme, we should be able to establish how we will achieve integration for universal health coverage,” Mr Mochoboroane said.
“We will mark the beginning of this transformation through improving coordination and accountability for improved outcomes using the SECURE and HSS project test case”.
Speaking earlier, USAID Acting Country Director, Mr Membe, announced that the agency had invested $34 million in the SECURE project to help prevent the spread of HIV.
Mr Membe encouraged the integration of the approaches of various government ministries under the project and reaffirmed USAID’s commitment to making substantial progress in combating the epidemic.
“SECURE is a five-year project which started on the 1st?of October 2024, and it will run until 30 September 2029. We have injected $ 34 million because it is crucial to prevent new HIV infections. It is important for different ministries to integrate including the Ministry of Education and Training and that of Gender, Youth and Social Development,” Mr Membe said.
For his part, the WHO Lesotho Team and Policy Research and Integrated Service Delivery Advisor, Dr Zbelo, acknowledged the government’s strides in fighting HIV.
Dr Zbelo stated that the government must foster strong partnerships to implement projects aimed at preventing HIV.
“We remain committed to advancing our shared vision of a healthy Lesotho, as WHO we provide the country with technical support to ensure that Lesotho benefits,” Dr Zbelo said.