Results based financing

Results Based Financing

Results-based financing (RBF) or performance-based financing (PBF) is an innovative resultsfocused
approach for incentivising health service providers to focus on performance, health outputs
and outcomes. Incentives such as financial, cash and in-kind, or public recognition can be used to
increase the use and quality of health care services and improve staff morale and retention.
Health Partners International (HPI) implement RBF schemes at various levels by assisting donors and
governments in assessing how RBF processes might successfully be implemented through
generating evidence of the effects and costs of demand and supply side interventions. We provide
technical assistance to government and private not-for-profit and faith-based service providers to
strengthen their management capacity and effectively use limited resources.
To support long-term sustainability, HPI promotes effective management of performance-based
contracts combined with management capacity building, quality improvement, data use and
community participation in health interventions. We incentivise service providers by linking
disbursements to performance, thus encouraging commitment, innovation and efficiency.

Our Impact

  • Performance based financing and uptake of maternal and child health services in Yobe State
    [Hyperlink to Resources>Journals>2013>Garba M. Ashir, Henry V. Doctor & Godwin Y.
    Afenyadu. ‘Performance based financing and uptake of maternal and child health services in
    Yobe State, northern Nigeria.’ Global Journal of Health Science, 5(3): 2013]
  • Can results based financing strengthen governance and improve health outcomes? [Hyperlink to
    Resources>Policy and technical briefs>2014>Evidence for decision-making>An assessment of whether
    results based financing can strengthen governance and improve health outcomes in post-conflict
    Northern Uganda. NU Health Uganda (346KB PDF) 2014] An assessment in post-conflict Northern
    Uganda.
  • Getting PBF mechanisms to work in northern Nigeria. [Hyperlink to Our
    Resources>Factsheets>2013>Evidence for decision making>Performance-based financing
    pilots. PRRINN-MNCH. (313KB PDF) December 2013] The PBF pilot studies provide useful
    insight into the mechanisms and systems required to enable such interventions to function
    effectively.

Our Projects

  • Using incentives to recruit and retain female nurse midwives in rural communities in northern
    Nigeria [Hyperlink to Our projects>W4H].
  • Nu Health [Hyperlink to Our Projects>NU Health] Uganda
  • Exploring the effect of payment incentives on community Emergency Transport Schemes.
    [Hyperlink to Our projects>METS]. The METS pilot investigated the use of incentives to
    improve performance amongst emergency transport drivers in northern Nigeria.

Technical Experts

  • Jeffrey W. Mecaskey, HPI Partner, [Hyperlink to our team>HPI Partners>Jeffrey Mecaskey]
  • Paula Quigley, HPI Partner, [Hyperlink to our team>HPI Partners> Paula Quigley]
  • Ike Osakwe, HPI Senior Partner [Hyperlink to our team>HPI Partners>Ike Osakwe]