This policy brief on addressing the country-level barriers to the use of country systems is based on research for the dialogue on the use of country systems in Senegal, initiated by the government of Senegal with the assistance of CABRI. The intent of this brief is to provide an overview of the challenges commonly faced by African countries, and to provide insights into how Senegal could improve on processes to integrate aid on plan, on budget and on report, the three dimensions of the use of country systems prioritised by Senegal. While the specifics of the challenges in these dimensions discussed in this brief are rooted in the Senegalese context, the issues are not unique to Senegal. The findings and recommendations set out here should, therefore, also be of interest to other African countries.