AQH - Accessible Quality Healthcare Project, Kosovo, Phase I

Background
The health sector in Kosovo faces challenges in meeting the health needs of its citizens and in delivering quality health services, particularly for vulnerable groups. Health indicators for the most marginalized are worse than those of the general population, indicating deep inequities to which the system is currently not responsive.

Objectives and Aims
In May 2015, the Ministry of Health (MoH) of Kosovo and the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC) signed a cooperation agreement regarding the “Accessible Quality Healthcare” (AQH) project.
The project has the following expected outcomes:

• Outcome 1 - Primary Health Care (PHC) providers in project municipalities deliver quality services that respond better to communities’ needs, including those of vulnerable groups.
• Outcome 2 - Health managers in project municipalities improve their performance in guiding service delivery towards continuous quality improvement that responds to communities’ needs.
• Outcome 3 - Health awareness and care seeking behaviour of the population in project municipalities improves (in particular of vulnerable groups) and communities are empowered to demand the right to quality services and better access to care.

Methods / Approaches
To support its partners, the AQH project works through the following approaches:

• Capacity building in health management for municipal managers and health facility managers
• Introduction of innovations such as  WHO’s PEN protocols, disease-specific service packages, continuous quality improvement processes, supportive supervision and benchmarking
• Supporting population/patients’ engagement into health, by raising rights’ awareness and facilitating feedback processes between patients and providers

Results
The main expected results include:

• Improving performance of the PHC system through:
• Strengthened health providers’ professional capacity and improved quality of care
• Strengthened managerial functions at all levels
• Innovative approaches at the interface between the health system and the population
• Trust building on the client/patient side
• Changed behaviours and improved health literacy, health self-determination, rights awareness and empowerment.

Target Groups
The AQH project works in 12 Municipalities. Its targets group is the general population but a special attention will be devoted to the most vulnerable groups such as such as the rural poor, the elderly, the very young, the disabled, the chronically ill, and Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities (RAE).

Project Website
www.aqhproject.org

Contact