April 29, 2008 — “In our countries, health policies are essentially formulated around the public sector, with the private sector being relegated to the sidelines. This state of affairs is perpetuated by a number of myths – that there should be more interest in the public sector because its primary goal is to assist the poor; that the population’s health care is financed mainly by governments; that the private sector, from the standpoint of its geographic distribution and range of activities, is not developed in Africa; or that regulation is the best way to improve the performance of the health care system.”
Ms. Sangaré Maimouna Bah, Minister of Public Health, made these observations in her opening remarks at a workshop on public-private partnership in Guinea’s health sector.
An analysis shows that the myths referred to by Ms. Bah have no basis in fact. Indeed, a significant number of Guineans turn to private institutions (formal and informal).
Owing to the weakness of the risk sharing and insurance systems, 81 percent of the country’s health expenses are borne by households.
There are many formal and informal private facilities.
Furthermore, Guinea has a very strict regulatory framework that does not always guarantee compliance with rules and procedures. This analysis shows that the private sector is neither well known nor well-regulated, according to the Minister.
The growing and important role of the private sector in providing health services should prod the authorities and encourage them to take this factor into consideration when formulating government policies.
Workshop participants
National Workshop on Public-Private Partnership in the Guinean Health Sector
A workshop on public-private partnerships (PPPs) was held in Conakry from April 14 to 18, 2008. It was organized by the Ministry of Public Health of Guinea in collaboration with the World Bank through the World Bank Institute (WBI), and with the technical support of the World Health Organization (WHO).
The workshop was chaired by the Minister of Public Health, and the resident representatives of the World Bank and the World Health Organization.
Dr. Gaston Sorgho, Senior Public Health Specialist of the World Bank, and Mr. Jean Perrot of the WHO facilitated the workshop, the third of its kind in francophone Africa, following one held in Dakar in June 2007 and another held in Ouagadougou in December 2007.
It brought together for five days approximately fifty health officials from institutions and central directorates, hospitals, professional organizations, and other entities charged with promoting PPPs.
The objective of the workshop was to strengthen the capacities of the participants to work judiciously with the private sector, particularly through contractualization, training and information, responding to health care demands, social marketing, health care franchises, and other forms of partnership in the area of health care provision.
The workshop enabled the stakeholders to understand the challenges facing PPPs in developing the health sector, and particularly in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
A view of the meeting room
Beneficial Health Policy for the Guinean People
This workshop is part of efforts by the Ministry of Health to develop a national health policy that employs the best possible strategies to make the services even more available and accessible to the population.
This must be done by fully integrating the private sector into the national health system and utilizing various partnership tools and instruments.
According to Dr. Gaston Sorgho, “the State must consider the best options with the private sector in order to better fulfill its mission of providing the best possible health care to the people.”
This effort clearly requires that consideration be given to enacting regulations that would establish equitable rules to correct the deficiencies of the market and thereby protect consumers.
The aspects to be regulated include: entry into the various professions, quality of services and products, prices of services and products, the use of medical technologies and infrastructure development standards, vendor-purchaser relations and interactions, financial viability of health insurance plans, and, in a broader sense, contractual relations.
During these five days of intense work very important topics were discussed, including the framework for analyzing and applying PPP public policies; evaluation of the private health sector as a complement to Government action; the typology of contracts in health systems, private sector motivation and in particular professional self-regulation to supplement the process of regulation and oversight, analysis of professional organizations, and the determination of their contribution to the national health policy.
Lastly, this workshop laid the foundation for improved collaboration aimed at achieving a health policy that will benefit the people of Guinea.
By Tabara Barry, Communications Associate, World Bank
RSS