The cluster is formed as a merger of two technical programs; the Health Systems and Services Development (HSSD) and the Human Resources for Health and Capacity Development (HRH&CD) Programs, following the restructuring process endorsed by the 61st Health Ministers Conference in 2015.

The HSSD program itself was established in the early 2000’s as a Healthcare Financing Programme (HFP). However, in the mid 2000’s, the scope of the HFP was enlarged to include the broader health systems issues in recognition that, in addition to health care financing constraints, resources management and allocation, health workers (environment, quality, quantity); medical supplies and equipment remains major areas of health systems weakness in the ECSA-HC member states.

However the activities of the program did not generally change, it remained focused on issues of health systems financing and to some extent pharmaceutical management systems improvement until 2015, when the HRH&CD became part of the program.

This is attributable to two issues, firstly the creations of other programs such as the HRH&CD, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), and Research Information and Advocacy (RIA) that took on other roles, and secondly the limited funding to the program that more often where from partners who were focusing on health systems financing.

Given the severe constraint in Human Resource for Health, the HRH&CD was established to support member states in addressing the HRH challenge in the region. In the development of the ECSA-HC Strategic Plan 2012-2017, HRH&CD is considered a niche for the ECSA-HC Secretariat.

Both programs; the HSSD and HRH&CD have contributed enormously to health systems development in the ECSA-HC member states as various reports indicate.