Impact of Acting District Health Officers on Health Services Delivery within their Respective Jurisdictions; A Case for Advocacy
Center for Rapid Evidence Synthesis (ACRES)DRRES-46
This Rapid Response should be cited as
ACRES (2020) Impact of Acting District Health Officers on Health Services Delivery within their Respective Jurisidictions; A Case for Advocacy; A Rapid Response Brief. Kampala: The Center For Rapid Evidence Synthesis
Summary
Background: The staffing norms for districts in Uganda require each district to have a District Health Officer (DHO). Currently there are 77 districts with substantive DHOs out of the total 135 districts. Findings: Using three indicators from district league tables, no difference was found in health services delivery between districts with acting DHOs and those with substantive DHOs. Many other factors affect service delivery including support supervision, development partners, and staffing. Conclusion: Using delivery of health services as an advocacy point to have substantive DHOs appointed may not result in the expected appointments. Alternative advocacy points need to be explored.