The pressure on the Ministry of Health and Sanitation to achieve the objective of launching free health care by 27th April is exposing how much work there is to do on fundamental organisational issues - communication, delegation, focus on execution etc etc (i.e. the challenges that face pretty much every government organisation and health system, only much more so).
Most days, something happens that give me a vertiginous feeling of just how close to the wind we are sailing: Yesterday, we were preparing for a team to go on a tour of Districts to validate payroll information and finalise recruitment of new staff, whose applications have been pending for months in the central office. The visits were due to start today, following an 8 day schedule, but yesterday at about 3pm we heard that the dates clash with National Immunisation Days over the weekend, which means that the staff we need won't be available. So there had to be rapid re-scheduling and all the related challenges of communicating that to Districts. That done, at that 5pm, we were still trying to track down the appropriate combination of drivers, vehicles and fuel for the trip. Under other circumstances, the visits could have been delayed, but if they don't happen now, then deadline of sorting out the payroll and recruitment of additional staff before 27th April will not be met.
On the subjct of deadlines, it looks like my (self-imposed) one of finding myself somewhere to live before the weekend will be met: The Simple Goal Guest House is a ten minute walk from work, in a quiet spot with water, electricity, aircon, and a small balcony from my room with an open view. I met the landlord this morning and am due to move in tormorrow. To maximise the chances of this happening, I am now using the estabished management technique of keeping my fingers crossed.
