From Concept to practice: Experience from the Peer Learning Districts on Health System Strengthening
The peer learning district initiative involved seventeen (17) relatively well performing districts selected to serve as models to other districts on how health service delivery can be improved. This concept emanated from the 12th Joint Annual Health Sector Review (JAHSR) meeting held in 2011.
The goal of the initiative was to demonstrate how existing resources with a minimal addition of new resources can be e ectively used to yield optimal results. Selected Regional and District Health Management Teams were to be assisted on strategic planning and budgeting to enable them strengthen their respective Comprehensive C ouncil Health P lans ( CCHP) in line with recommended national policies and guidelines.
Based on a set of performance criteria agreed upon b y the go v er nmen t and dev elopmen t partners, seventeen districts were selected to participate in the peer learning district initiative. The selection criteria included: capacity of district leadership, availability of functional teams and structures, functional Community Health Funds (CHF), functional National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), operational facility accounts, and districts’ capacity to adhere to the national guidelines.
Sixteen districts were selected from Tanzania Mainland: these are Mbozi, Serengeti, Kibaha, Magu, Meru, Rungwe, Iramba, Singida Rural, Nzega, Kasulu, Bahi, Sumbawanga, Mbinga, Kilolo, Kilosa and Nachingwea, and the seventeenth was from Zanzibar, namely Unguja North A district. The initial duration of the peer learning initiative was four years from 2012-2015.
