Manual on financial mechanism for the health facilities: Introducing pay-for-performance approach to increase utilization of maternal, newborn, and child health services in Bangladesh

The Population Council initiated an operations research study to test two Pay-for-Performance (P4P) strategies to improve maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) services in Bangladesh in 2010. The P4P study is being implemented as part of the two ongoing MNCH and maternal and newborn health (MNH) projects of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) implemented by the Directorate General of Health Services, Government of Bangladesh. The study has been testing two strategies. The first introduces incentives tied with performance for motivating service providers to improve the quantity as well as quality of services, and enable poor pregnant women, and mothers of newborns and under-five children to access services by reducing out-of-pocket costs for medicines, transportation, and incidental costs through subsidized coupons. The second constitutes a P4P scheme for providers only. This manual, developed by the Council, describes the purposes, processes, and appropriate documents that will enable facilities and P4P and/or Coupon Committees to opportunely receive and utilize funds under the P4P and coupon mechanism to improve MNCH services