Assessing the National System for Social Accountability in Health: Applying an assessment tool to measure maturity and performance of national social accountability systems in heath – Results of a pilot study in Rwanda and Malawi

Summary

This paper presents the results of a pilot testing of an assessment tool that will provide country governments a snap shot of the status of their national Social Accountability in Health. Social accountability is a critical element of good governance, and a foundational component of universal health coverage and the path toward ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all (Sustainable Development Goal #3). Localized projects, using tools such as Community Score Cards (CSC) that engage rights holders or health system beneficiaries in assessing and improving their health services, have been effective at strengthening the responsiveness and accessibility of primary care services, namely reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health services (RMNCH).