An Introduction to Health Planning in Developing Countries

This is the second edition of the text aimed at planners and health policy makers involved in planning for health in developing countries. The book is also highly relevant for Central and Eastern Europe where many countries are now trying to develop new, more flexible and decentralized approaches to health care under clear resource constraints. This edition continues to be based on the premise that the State has a key role to play in the health sector and that planning is an important mechanism for carrying out this role. The book begins by explaining the importance of health planning, stressing the balanced combination of technique and judgements necessary for successful planning. It outlines the policy context internationally within which health planning operates, including recent health sector reform policies and longer-standing policies of primary health care. The book then looks at each of the key stages in the Planning Spiral from the Situational Analysis through to Evaluation. Each of these is dealt with in a chapter, which introduces key concepts and techniques.