The RESYST consortium, in collaboration with the Asia Pacific Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, has recently commenced a multi-country study to critically assess the performance of healthcare purchasers in a range of low and middle-income countries, and to identify factors influencing that performance. The countries involved in the study are: China, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, the Philippines and Viet Nam.

The research will examine the relationships between different groups of actors in order to understand the various components of strategic purchasing and the organisational environment within which it operates. It uses a case study approach whereby the purchasing arrangements or mechanisms in countries are the ‘case’ in each study, and the organisational relationships for purchasers are the unit of analysis.

This factsheet gives an overview of the different purchasing mechanisms covered in the study and the 10 countries involved in the research.