Strengthening planning and budgeting at state level

Chris Allison, 2008

In 2002, many state planning and budgeting weaknesses could be associated directly with the political and administrative role ambiguities which persisted in the Nigeria Public Health System both between and within the three tiers of government. There were no systematic links between policies, plans and budgets. Planning and budgeting were not regarded as integral parts of programme implementation and performance management, and plan and budget progress was rarely reviewed, monitored or reported on. Insufficient attention was paid in the planning process to public revenues and to the ramifications for out-of-pocket payments by households.

This paper focuses on the Partnership for Transforming Health Systems (PATHS) programme’s support of health sector efforts to re-establish effective strategic (or medium-term) planning, along with annual operational (or business) planning and budgeting. The brief also demonstrates how PATHS adapted and strengthened its approaches as state planning and budgeting evolved during this six-year programme from 2002 to 2008.

Produced as part of the Partnership for Transforming Health Systems (PATHS) programme.