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Health sector reform in Mali, 1989-1996 - TropMed Central Antwerp ...

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technical assistants who were experienced <strong>in</strong> primary health care<br />

management and district health systems. These advisers did not have any<br />

direct responsibility for manag<strong>in</strong>g f<strong>in</strong>ancial resources. They had to use their<br />

experience to support the regional and district teams <strong>in</strong> implement<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>itial<br />

tasks. That meant tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g for all (local, district, and regional levels), and<br />

help<strong>in</strong>g to bolster implementation.<br />

NEW ROLES FOR PARTICIPANTS AT THE CENTRAL LEVEL<br />

The new roles and responsibilities for the different levels were designed to<br />

overcome the obstacles of <strong>in</strong>adequate organization and central function<strong>in</strong>g.<br />

These roles were strongly <strong>in</strong>fluenced by the compartmentalized and direct<br />

management of programmes. For many participants, notably at the central<br />

level, the new policy was dismissed as an additional large project that would<br />

gradually assume its place among others already under way. They did not<br />

see it as a tool for organiz<strong>in</strong>g and decentraliz<strong>in</strong>g health development.<br />

Indeed, a decree assigned management of the Technical Committee to the<br />

director of HPRWP, <strong>in</strong>stead and <strong>in</strong> place of the National <strong>Health</strong> and Social<br />

Action Department. This move re<strong>in</strong>forced the tendency of the latter to<br />

treat the new national health policy as just another project.<br />

The lack of “ownership” of this project generated all the more<br />

problems because the health organization model was new throughout <strong>Mali</strong>;<br />

it had not been implemented anywhere. Exist<strong>in</strong>g milestones were either<br />

partial implementations <strong>in</strong> a few locales or similar models developed <strong>in</strong><br />

other countries. 18 It was still an idea await<strong>in</strong>g concrete application: mak<strong>in</strong>g<br />

it work could only happen <strong>in</strong> the field, by establish<strong>in</strong>g ComHCs and the<br />

district health development plan.<br />

18 Equipe du Projet Kasongo (1981). Le Projet Kasongo: une expérience d’organisation d’un<br />

système de so<strong>in</strong>s de santé primaires. Annales de la Société belge de Médec<strong>in</strong>e Tropicale 61<br />

(Supplement), 1-54. Fass<strong>in</strong> D, Jeannee E, Salem G et al. (1986) Les enjeux sociaux de la<br />

participation communautaire. Les comités de santé a Pik<strong>in</strong>e (Sénégal). Sciences Sociales et<br />

Santé 4, 205-221. Stroobant A (1979) Expériences de so<strong>in</strong>s de santé <strong>in</strong>tégrés au Cap Bon,<br />

Tunisie. Annales de la Société belge de Médec<strong>in</strong>e Tropicale 59 (Supplement), 47-70. Unger JP<br />

(1992) Role des districts sanitaires et méthodologie de leur développement en Afrique.<br />

Dissertation. Brussels: Université Libre de Bruxelles, Faculté de Médec<strong>in</strong>e et de Pharmacie.<br />

357p.<br />

Studies <strong>in</strong> HSO&P,20,2003 19

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