ABOUT SPEED PROJECT
SPEED Stands for Supporting Policy Engagement for Evidence-based Decisions (SPEED) for Universal Health Coverage in Uganda Project’. SPEED is a five-year initiative supported by the European Union (EU) launched in March 2015 and broadly addresses universal health coverage (UHC) and systems resilience in Uganda. The initiative is being implemented by a partnership of institutions that are specialized in health policy and systems research, economic policy analyses, social science research, national planning, and advocacy for health rights. SPEED implementing partners are Makerere University School of Public Health -MakSPH (lead agency), Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC), National Planning Authority (NPA), Uganda National Health Consumers’ Organisation (UNHCO), Human Sciences Research Council-HSRC (based in South Africa) and the Institute of Tropical Medicine-ITM (Antwerp, Belgium).
The Vision
The SPEED project has a two-part vision:
- MakSPH with an outstanding track record and sustainable capacity for policy analysis, advice and influence for universal health coverage (UHC) and the resilience of health systems in Uganda.
- Having state and non-state agencies that understand what UHC entails, and what roles they individually and collaboratively have to play in its realization.
SPEED Objectives
Overall objective: To strengthen capacity for policy analysis, advice and influence at MakSPH and partner institutions and contribute to accelerating progress towards universal health coverage and health systems resilience in Uganda.
Specific objectives are:
- To engage and influence policy makers with contextually adapted evidence for health policy and systems changes to advance UHC.
- To support policymakers to monitor the implementation of vital programs for the realization of policy goals for UHC.
- To enhance the expertise, knowledge and resources for policy analysis and advice and influence at MakSPH and partner institutions.
The SPEED Approach
Three Main Approaches;
- Stakeholder Engagements: Stakeholders from different sectors will be convened and engaged to understand the problems and identify solutions. These processes will be supported with production and packaging of contextually adapted evidence by MaKSPH and its partners. The work will be guided by a locally driven research agenda with focus on policy analysis and political economy of actors and institutions to advance UHC in Uganda;
- Implementation Monitoring: A policy implementation barometer will be conducted to provide feedback to the policymakers and other stakeholders on how the policies are being implemented and their performance.
- Capacity building: Courses, trainings and mentorship will be designed and conducted to address the capacity needs of MakSPH faculty and future students and partner institutions to enable them provide the necessary policy analyses and advice, support policy influences for decision making.