Health Facility Committees: The Governance Issue

This is the fourth of a series of policy briefs produced by the Community Health Department of the Aga Khan Health Service in Kenya. It focuses on a number of issues related to the management of health facilities: the rational for decentralisation of health services, the role of the community in the management of health facilities, the membership of local management committees, selection criteria and, finally, the involvement of local politicians.

These briefs are primarily intended for directors and managers of community-based health care programmes — whether working within ministries of health, international donor agencies or non-government organisations. For these people, at a time when there is an increasing interest in the decentralisation of health services, this fourth brief takes up three main questions: What is the rationale for public participation in health facility management? What should be the extent of a facility management committee’s authority? What relationship should the committee have with local government; and should local politicians have membership? [Publisher’s description]