Contributions of WHO to South Africa’s Health Agenda: Evaluation of the Country Cooperation Strategy 2016-2020

I am pleased to release the Evaluation Report of the World Health Organization (WHO) Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS) in South Africa for 2016-2020. CCS serves as a guiding document for WHO’s policy engagement, technical advice, and operational support in the country. It is developed in due consultation with the national government- particularly the Department of Health and partners to identify priority areas of WHO support aligned with national health and development priorities. WHO South Africa’s third CCS identified four key strategic priorities, which were implemented over the period 2016-2020: 1. Support to the implementation of National Health Insurance (NHI) to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC); 2. Prevent and reduce the disease burden of HIV, hepatitis, STIs and tuberculosis (TB), with a view to increasing life expectancy gains; 3. Promote longer healthier lives by supporting the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases, injuries and accidents, and mental health; and 4. Help South Africa meet its global health obligations while contributing to international health and development. This Evaluation Report highlights WHO’s contributions to South Africa’s achievements in improving the health and wellbeing of the population during the period 2016 to 2020, and the lessons learned through this process. The report also articulates the future directions and potential areas requiring greater prioritization for WHO technical cooperation over the next CCS period – 2021-2025. The report presents a neutral and unbiased picture of WHO’s work and stakeholders’ perceptions over the CCS period. Whilst the evaluation process was guided using standardized WHO tools and guidelines, it was conducted through services of an independent consultant who directly engaged with the key stakeholders. The evaluation report has also been peer reviewed. Despite the negative impacts of COVID-19 pandemic in the final year of CCS implementation, good progress was made under all four strategic priorities. The effective implementation of the CCS 2016-2020 was made possible by the efforts and contributions of numerous stakeholders within and outside WHO, particularly the National and Provincial Departments of Health, other government departments and agencies, academic institutions, civil society, development partners, private sector, and UN agencies. I wish to thank the Government of the Republic of South Africa for providing an enabling environment and for being supportive for the work of WHO in the country. While good progress has been made, we take note of certain shortcomings. We will use the learnings from the evaluation period to improve WHO’s functioning in the next CCS cycle, so that we are better able to support South Africa in building strong and resilient health systems for UHC and Health security, as we continue to promote health, keep South Africa safe and serve the most vulnerable.