Rapid Evaluation of the of the Implementation of Free Health Care for Women of Childbearing Age and Children Aged 0 to 5 in the Dosso Region

In July 2022, the High Commission for State Modernization (HCME), in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health, Population and Social Action (MSP/P/AS), decided to conduct a rapid evaluation of this measure in the Dosso region.

The objective of this rapid evaluation of the free health care initiative is to report on the uptake of the beneficiaries and actors of the implementation of the free health care policy. This exercise allows us to determine to what extent the free health care policy has achieved its primary objectives of:

(1) improving access to health care;

(2) reduce child mortality;

(3) strengthening partners to provide quality health services

(4) improve the efficiency and effectiveness of free health care delivery approaches;

(5) identify operational policy barriers and new/revised policies adopted and implemented

(6) support local actors, civil society, service providers, and local governments in promoting free health care policy

(7) document and disseminate lessons learned from adaptation and implementation processes and experiences; and

(8) identify and coordinate the needs of partners and national drug management committees. This rapid assessment, led by the Government of Niger, complements the rapid assessment efforts already undertaken by other partners.

This report on the rapid evaluation of the implementation of the free health care for women of childbearing age and children aged 0 to 5 years is structured in five (4) chapters. The first chapter describes the measure and its rationale. The second chapter presents the objectives of the rapid assessment and the methodological approach adopted. Chapter 3 presents the results and Chapter 4 is devoted to recommendations.