Resource Type: Tool
Authors: Health Systems 20/20
Published: 9/1/2012

Resource Description:

In order to design effective strategies for creating a strong health system, countries first must have access to critical information on the strengths and limitations of their system. An effective assessment tool must be flexible and participatory in order to respond to the context specific needs of each country. The tool must also be thorough and rigorous enough to provide solid evidence that will guide effective policy and decision-making. Since it was originally developed in 2004, the Health Systems Assessment Approach (HSAA) has been utilized in more than 24 countries, and has incorporated input from global experts across the field of health system strengthening. Since the first edition, the HSAA tool has evolved to respond to the changing requirements of systems strengthening efforts by incorporating elements that build greater local capacity; increase local stakeholder engagement; and increase the use of rigorous scientific methods while keeping the methodology as simple and user-friendly as possible. The result is a stronger HSAA Manual, Version 2.0, that facilitates a collaborative assessment process and provides a critical source of data to assist countries in developing effective strategies for strengthening their health system.