Methodological Evaluation of Community Health Centre Systems in Senegal: Panel Data Estimation for Efficiency Gains

Community health centres (CHCs) in Senegal are critical for delivering healthcare services to underserved populations. Despite their importance, there is a need to evaluate and improve their operational efficiency. This research employs econometric methods, specifically the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model, to assess the operational efficiency of the CHCs. The DEA model is applied using cross-sectional data from multiple years to capture changes over time and across different locations within Senegal. The panel-data estimation revealed that some CHCs exhibit significant efficiency gains in service delivery compared to their peers, with a proportion of at least 30% improvement in operational effectiveness observed. These findings suggest that targeted interventions aimed at improving resource allocation and management could enhance the overall performance of Senegalese CHCs, thereby improving healthcare outcomes for local populations. Based on these results, it is recommended that policymakers focus on implementing strategies to increase efficiency in CHC operations, such as training staff and optimising service delivery protocols. Treatment effect was estimated with $\text{logit}(p_i)=\beta_0+\beta^\top X_i$, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.