The Agence Nationale d’Evaluation et d’Accréditation des Etablissements de Santé, abbreviated to ANAES, is responsible for the evaluation and accreditation of healthcare establishments:
– establishing and implementing accreditation procedures for healthcare establishments
health establishments ;
– proposing to the Minister of Health the accreditation of healthcare establishments.

According to article 3 of Decree no. 2022-0112/PT-RM of February 24, 2022, setting out the organization and operating procedures of ANAES, accreditation is: «an external evaluation procedure carried out by a public body which assesses the quality of services provided by a health care facility, using indicators, criteria and benchmarks relating to procedures, good clinical practice and results. It consists of an external audit, leading to an accreditation report».

This report is communicated to the facility’s management and supervisory bodies, so that they can correct any shortcomings identified and follow up any recommendations made. The assessment body’s conclusions are submitted to the Ministry of Health, which decides whether or not to grant accreditation.

Accreditation provides proof to customers and other stakeholders of the quality control of its service and organization. The aim is to ensure that the health care organization takes into account the safety and quality of care and patient management.

Accreditation applies to all activities carried out by the health care organization that are directly or indirectly involved in patient care, and therefore concerns all structures (departments, services, etc.) and activities simultaneously. It does not apply to medico-social activities, even when these are carried out within a health care facility.

Accreditation is the guarantee of quality assurance.

Accreditation in the health sector must have three (03) general objectives, namely :
– to support a dynamic improvement in the quality of care within each healthcare
health care establishment ;
– make accreditation available to users and associations, government departments, other players in the health sector (local authorities, National Assembly, etc.) and technical and financial partners,
and technical and financial partners with credible information on the quality of care provided by each of the country’s health care facilities, its shortcomings and the measures to be taken to correct them;
– provide health action programs with information on the ability of health facilities to carry out their missions or those entrusted to them.

An accredited health care facility assures users that the care it provides meets the required quality standards, and assures the State and other players in the health care system that it has the capacity to carry out certain activities.

Accreditation is one of the main pillars of results-based management. It is an indispensable tool for improving the performance of the healthcare system. To establish and implement accreditation procedures for healthcare establishments, ANAES works with healthcare system stakeholders to draw up standards designed to assess organization, procedures and expected results in terms of health gains and patient satisfaction.

A reference system defines standards and requirements in terms of technical skills and the implementation of a management system.

For a health care facility to undergo the accreditation process, it must satisfy all the eligibility indicators. It should be noted that satisfaction of these criteria represents the minimum level of quality for which the accreditation team will be able to carry out an accreditation visit.

Any public or private health care establishment may request an accreditation visit.

A self-assessment by the health care organization will help to ensure that it is fully prepared for the accreditation visit.

The purpose of the self-assessment is to check that the eligibility indicators have been met.

The maximum duration of an accreditation is three (03) years, with a follow-up visit between 11 and 13 months after obtaining an accreditation certificate.

Re-accreditation follows the same stages as accreditation, including the information stage prior to self-assessment (eligibility) and the accreditation visit.