THE POLITICS OF THE HEALTH DISTRICT REFORM IN THE REPUBLIC OF BENIN

The analysis of health policy reform focuses mostly on the contents of reforms. Walt and Gilson (1994) draw attention to the fact that the e nvironmental context as well as the actors involved are of crucial imp ortance to the process of policy adoption. This paper describes and an alyses the process of adoption of the new concept of so-called 'sanita ry zones' in the Republic of Benin as part of the health sector reform . The analysis of the reform is based on the examination of documents and interviews carried out in Benin in February 1997. The main finding s show that the reasons for the specific policy choice do not emerge c learly. The main problems identified are: the role of the hospital, th e incongruous administration, resistance against the reform and the qu estion whether the government actually has the political will to chang e. Possible solutions to these constraints are offered in the conclusi on. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.