Strengthening Primary Healthcare in the Province of Samana in the Dominican Republic (2004-2009)
The Government of the Dominican Republic started a major healthcare system reform in 2001 to facilitate universal access to basic healthcare services, improve the quality and efficiency of the services, and secure sufficient financial resources for healthcare. The following measures for the transition period were proposed: strengthening the supervisory function of the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare; enhancing local healthcare offices; establishing a social insurance organization; and separating functions between healthcare service delivery and administration. The reform focused on primary healthcare services and community-based healthcare, and highlighted the importance of strengthening primary-level organizations and supervisory roles of provincial healthcare offices. The JICA-assisted project was carried out between 2004 and 2009 to execute the aforementioned measures in Samana Province. It aimed at establishing an implementation model in developing human resources in healthcare and strengthening the linkage between healthcare services and communities. The project was designed to achieve its objectives by attaining the following outputs.
- The capacity of the Primary Health Care Units (Unidad de Atención Primaria de Salud: UNAP) on maternal and neonatal care is strengthened through community participation.
- The ability of the Provincial Health Offices (Direccion Provincial de Salud: DPS) to provide supportive supervision of the Primary Health Care Units is enhanced.