Haiti: Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper; IMF Country Report 08/115 ...

• A minimum package of available services, in accordance with a complementary
approach between the various echelons
• Organization and redefinition of the service personnel.
118 The introduction of UCSs represents a genuine challenge for the Ministry. Despite the
investments made to date, only six of these entities are functional out of the 11 programmed for
end-2007, and there are plans to cover the national territory with a total of 56 by 2012. The
problems experienced with implementing this model are both structural and conjunctural, as the
operation of the model is heavily dependent on the pooling of the resources available locally, but
also on intensive participation of the people through their natural leaders and established
authorities.
Objectives
119 The process of definitively setting up the UCSs should enable this local echelon of the health
system to exercise its various functions by giving them the legal authority to do so as well as
resources and means needed to plan, manage, implement, and evaluate their activities. To this
end, the following objectives have been set:
• Revise the legal and institutional framework
• Ensure that the system of health coverage is broadened.
Strategic lines of action
• Drafting of a new framework law on UCSs and a new organic law on the Ministry of
Health
• Preparation of a reference framework for introducing UCSs
• Definition of mechanisms for contracting with partners involved in the process
• Introduction of functional, high-performance UCSs.
STRENGTHENED ASSUMPTION OF CARE FOR PRIORITY DISEASES
120 Owing to their frequency or seriousness, these diseases have a major impact on the state of health
of the people and also have considerable economic consequences, a situation that is all the more
unacceptable in that it can be considerably improved by taking adequate measures. These priority
diseases share the following traits:
• A prevention/information shortfall: prevention requires suitably tailored and timeextensive
measures. In any event, the prevention programs focused on individual
diseases that are currently in place suffer from highly inadequate coverage and should
be strengthened.
• Inadequate assumption of care: despite the support of vertical problems that are more
amply financed (HIV), the assumption of care for such diseases has inadequacies in
terms of screening, access to appropriate care, and sometimes the quality of the care
provided.
• A shortfall in terms of intersectoral collaboration: the prevention of and screening for
these diseases could be significantly improved through sound collaboration with other
sectors, such as the environment, urban planning, or education. Some sectors are
concerned with the assumption of care for particularly vulnerable populations
(prisoners, orphans, prostitutes, etc.).
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