PSP-One Coaches African Ministries of Health on Working with the Private Sector
The Abt Associates-led PSP-One project co-sponsored a workshop with the World Health Organization’s Department of Reproductive Health and Research (WHO/RHR) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia May 7 – 10, 2008.
Entitled “Network for Africa: Building Public-Private Linkages to Advance Priority Health Services,” the four-day workshop aimed to develop national capacity to design and manage partnerships with private sector stakeholders to address reproductive health/family planning and HIV/AIDS-related health challenges. Participating countries included Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda. The workshop curriculum was based on a World Bank Institute course on public policy for the private sector, which was revised for the Africa context and updated to reflect current trends in private sector provision of health.
Topics covered included:
- elements of successful partnerships and how to structure a partner process;
- financing mechanisms to mobilize the private health sector;
- management and leadership skills needed to manage partnerships;
- policy instruments available to the public sector;
- quality assurance in the private health sector; and
- supportive legal and regulatory environments.
Narrated presentations on each of these topics as well as the companion case studies will be available on the PSP-One website early August for your review.
Country teams met each afternoon to develop actions to engage the private health sector partners following the workshop.
At the workshop, the PSP-One project also launched the Network for Africa. The purpose of the Network is to: (a) foster the exchange of experiences; (b) share tools and materials; and (c) build Ministry of Health (MOH) capacity to work with the private health sector. The Network will carry out the following activities:
- Information exchange information
- Skill building through workshops
- Skill building through study tours
- Skill building through long-distance learning
- Networking and mentoring
Click here to view the Addis Workshop audio presentations
The Network for Africa has its own workspace and can be accessed by contacting Sarah_Ritterhoff@abtassoc.com
