ABSTRACT
Despite huge global investments in strengthening health systems, there are yawning gaps between health service provisioning and the health needs of the people, especially those in resource-poor environments. The uptake of health interventions is generally low due largely to a disconnect between the health systems and the end users. The quest for a health system that responds to the health needs of the populations served was the major motive behind many declarations in the health sector. Beyond this, however, Roberts et al. (2004, 90) proposed a set of performance goals for the health system that could contribute to the evaluation of the health service and ipso facto the uptake of health services by the people. These include “(1) health status of the population, (2) the satisfaction citizens derive from the system, and (3) the degree to which citizens are protected from financial risks of ill health.”
