Resource Type: Technical Brief
Authors: Altea Cico, Kelley Laird, Lisa Tarantino and Sharon Nakhimovsky
Published: September 2018

Resource Description: This technical brief provides policy makers in low and middle income countries (LMIC) with an innovative way to view and exercise their governance role in the health system to improve the quality of health services. It is a departure from traditional approaches such as command-control and provider training. It recognizes that no external regulatory enforcement system, no matter how well-funded, can ever ensure consistent health service quality for all patients. Good governance can harness the reality that most health professionals want to deliver quality care and are ultimately the only ones who can ensure consistent health service quality for all patients. Health policy leaders in partnership with providers, purchasers, consumers, and communities should build a system that motivates and enables health providers and support staff to deliver quality services and continuously seek quality improvement.