Judging Criteria

6. Approach contributes to multiple health program areas (e.g. HIV/AIDS, malaria, maternal and child health, etc.) at the primary level and the strengthening of multiple core functions of the health system (e.g. health financing, governance, human resources for health, medicines, etc).

The information provided below aims to help competitors understand what the judges will be looking for when making their decisions.

Highest Priority:

USAID's Inclusive Health Access Prize will prioritize approaches that have demonstrated:

1. An ability to reach poor and vulnerable populations, especially women and girls, including how barriers to access for poor and vulnerable populations are overcome by the intervention in a way that exceeds other efforts within the local health system.

2. Explicit arrangements between public and private sector entities to work together to expand the coverage of primary health care by making services more accessible, accountable, affordable, or reliable.

3. A vision and plan based on evidence or lessons learned for expanding the approach (or aspects of the approach) to additional geographies or populations in a way that increases or maintains local ownership of the program while working toward cost recovery.

Priority Criteria:

4. USAID's Inclusive Health Access Prize is also interested in learning more about how your approach contributes to optimal health systems - namely, that it demonstrates one or some of the following traits: accessibility, affordability, accountability, and/or replicability which ultimately resulted in improved health outcomes.

Extended definitions and examples of the components of optimal health care follow:

• “Accessible” means health care is available when and where people need it and can use it. 
  
• “Accountable” means society as a whole works together to ensure health care meets people’s needs.
  
• “Affordable” means that money spent on health care provides the best value possible.
  
• “Reliable” means high-quality health care delivered in a timely manner that promotes dignity and respect for all patients and providers. 
  

Advancements in access through one or more of the dimensions above should be demonstrated through data demonstrating improved health outcomes on any primary health care measure for the population covered by the approach.

Bonus Criteria:

Finally, USAID's Inclusive Health Access Prize will reward solutions that demonstrate local ownership and multi-functional health systems strengthening.

5. Submissions that demonstrate local ownership of the approach. We will be considering:

• Whether the approach has originated in the country in which it is being implemented by a local individual or a locally-founded organization.
  
• Whether the balance of staff is from the country where the approach is being deployed.
  
• The balance of person or organization’s funding streams (with a preference for local or sustainable funding, rather than international or donor-funding).
  

• Any evidence that demonstrates how the approach contributes to multiple health program areas at the primary level and strengthening multiple core functions (financing, leadership/governance, human resources, information, service delivery or medical products, vaccines and technologies) of the health system.