b'Continuous Health Service Delivery under Covid-19: Challenges,Opportunities and ImpactIn 2020 the Health Pooled Fund Working with the Zimbawean Ministry of Health We congratulate you Crown Agents in South Sudan: No matter programme has:and Child Care to champion maternal the challenge, we will meet the worlds and child healthfor the great work you greatest needs DeliveredWith an economic crisis unfolding in the country, the strainare doing to contributeSouth Sudan faces the extreme challenge of delivering19,207,142on Zimbabwes health delivery system is evident, withhealthcare to diverse populations affected by long-running shortages of medicines, including PPE, resulting in healthto the progress thatconflict with the added impact in 2020 of floods, locust workers staging a countrywide strike for fear of Covid-19plagues and Covid-19. The South Sudan Health Pooled Fund infections whilst delivering services. Zimbabwe is making in(HPF) programme provides 8 million citizens, especiallypacks of emergency drugs and medical Supported by the Health Development Fund, Crown Agentswomen and children, with access to safe, effective andhigh quality healthcare, delivering services across has been implementing the Results-Based Financingbuilding strong, resilient80% of the country. Crown Agents manages a fund ofconsumables to 800 health facilities (RBF) Programme in partnership with the Ministry of Health approximately 70 million annually (400 million total) and Child Care since 2014. The RBF Programme is beingand people-centredand 11 international and local partners across complexTrainedimplemented in 42 rural districts covering 849 rural health facilities and 67 hospitals and serves over 6.6 millionhealth systems. Weand unstable geographies to ensure no interruption in4,383people. The Programme is deeply embedded in localquality service delivery. We have maintained services policies and processes to ensure its sustainability. On thesince 2012 despite the outbreak of conflict in 2016; so far, supply side, it finances incentives to service providerslook forward to an evenwe have facilitated 6.1 million patient consultations at for the results obtained. On the demand side, it provideshealth facilities (including 2.2 million consultations with incentives to beneficiaries - the community receiving thestronger partnershipchildren under 5), 48,000 deliveries attended by a skilledcommunity-based health workersservices. Even against a backdrop of economic crisis, sincebirth attendant and vaccinations of 71,000 children against the start of the programme infant mortality in Zimbabwebetween Crown Agentspreventable diseases. Procured and distributed has decreased by 15% and under 5 mortality by 13%. Thisand WHO.We are now delivering the programmes third phase, working134data clearly indicates that there have been outstandingwith the Ministry of Health. It is funded by FCDO, USAID, Gavi, improvements in the health sector in Zimbabwe, results thethe EU and the governments of Canada and Sweden and RBF programme is proud to have contributed to. Dr Alex Gasasira, WHO Zimbabwesupports 797 health facilities in 55 counties.In response to Covid-19 we purchased 5,000 itemsof PPE and trained staff on their use. As a result, PPE kits weighing 46 metric tonnesRBF facilities continued to operate safely, with 24,000Covid-19: How HPF is ensuring essentialdeliveries conducted, 410,000 women accessing short-termhealth service delivery family planning methods and 37,000 children completingDeveloped and translated Covid-19 primary immunisations.HPFs goal during the pandemic has been to guarantee thatawareness materials intoessential health services continue operating at optimum Throughout Covid-19 RBF facilities have enabled: level. HPF first assessed how prepared programme partners20were for Covid-19 and supported them to develop readiness and response plans. With its prominent supply chain role in the country, it procured and distributed 134 PPE kits totalling 48,000 71,000 46 metric tonnesand assisted the Ministry of Health andlocal languages and distributed 19,000 copiesthe World Food Programme with PPE distribution. HPF alsoto over 800 health facilities across South Sudanensures that all supported facilities have sufficient drugs and medicines to continue essential health service delivery. deliveries attended by a skilled children to complete primary immunisations As a result of our rapid assessment on the ground, we were birth attendantable to develop, print and disseminate risk communication messages and strengthen 480 health facilities WASH and Infection Prevention and Control infrastructure. HPF also 84,000 trained 3,400 health care workers and 4,383 community health workers on Covid-19 case identification and treatment protocols.women to access short-term family planning methods18 [1] https://www.equinetafrica.org/sites/default/files/uploads/documents/DIS79pppMUNYUKI.pdf 19'