Public-private partnerships

In the context of health, a wide variety of initiatives can take the form of  'public-private partnerships' (PPPs). These include:

  • private sector involvement in product development or distribution programmes within public health systems
  • joint initiatives by a government and the private sector to strengthen specific health programmes
  • contracting by the public sector of private sector service delivery organisations.


Our experience at Health Partners International (HPI) spans 25 years of working with and supporting the contribution of faith-based health services in public-private partnerships in countries such as Nigeria and Ghana. Members of our team have worked as health professionals, managers and administrators of faith-based hospitals and primary health care services, and as short-term technical advisers.

Some of our projects

 

Background information


In many low-income countries, faith-based organisations have historically been contracted by the public sector to deliver essential public health services. Recently, foreign support for these organisations had diminished dramatically as policy interest shifted to supporting public sector reform efforts. However, many governments, such as those of Kenya and Uganda, are now recognising the role of these organisations in their new health sector strategies.

 

Opportunities and challenges include how to:

  • attract and retain skilled health workers
  • work effectively with government and to link with public health services
  • maintain access for the poor where external support is diminishing
  • develop effective umbrella organisations in order to strengthen the profile and negotiating power of the sector
  • strengthen organisation and management systems
  • contribute to governments' efforts to achieve equity goals
  • protect those attributes that make faith-based service delivery different and special.

We recognise that if faith-based health services are to play a key role in supporting the achievement of the health-related Millennium Development Goals, it is essential that:

  • they improve their strategic and operational planning capacity
  • key sub-systems, such as drugs and procurement, financial management, general and human resource management, are robust
  • the sector can more effectively manage its relationships with government and funders.

The faith-based sector's potential for delivering basic health services to communities that are geographically remote or otherwise under-served by the public sector is as yet untapped, but holds much promise for helping governments to operationalise their policy commitments to health equity.