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Tayo Olanipekun
Dangote Foundation, GBCHealth and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) have called for “greater” African private sector involvement and investment in healthcare.
In the preliminary findings from their forthcoming “Healthcare and Economic Growth in Africa” report,they noted that neither government nor existing public-private partnerships are effective enough.
They made this known last Thursday alongside United Nations General Assembly during high-level dialogue that convened African heads of state, corporate CEOs and NGO leaders to discuss health and financing in Africa.
The preliminary report,therefore, recommends a new model, one in which PPPs prioritize around the most significant disease burden and broaden their scope to benefit the health of the whole continent.
“The dialogue was a much-needed call-to-action for the African private sector as evidenced by the research,” said President, Dangote Group and Chairman, Aliko Dangote Foundation, Aliko Dangote. “The best way to move Africa forward is for businesses to step up in health care and take bold action. We must work together, across industries and with governments and communities, to foster innovation and to drive more strategic investments that benefit us collectively.”
The three organizations also gathered African heads of state, corporate CEOs, and heads of UN agencies at the United Nations headquarters for a high-level dialogue to discuss the findings and reinforce the importance of greater African private sector involvement and investment in healthcare.
The dialogue, moderated by journalist Isha Sesay, featured lively discussions from champions for multisector health partnerships in Africa.
The discussions explored findings of ECA’s research, Africa’s health status, SDG’s, public-private partnerships, health systems strengthening and health financing.
Following opening remarks from Founder and Chairman, African Initiative for Governance and Co -Chair, GBCHealth,Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Togolese President, H.E. Faure Gnassingbé, spoke about the healthcare situation in his country and the government’s approach to public-private partnerships.
“In Togo, we passed on the responsibility of certain facilities, namely clinics, pharmacies and hospices, to specific private entities who manage them,” said H.E. Faure Gnassingbé. “We’re proud to say that public facilities are as efficient as private facilities, so we have gone on to create another category of facilities that are semi-private, semi-public.”
Other leaders also highlighted the importance of financing healthcare and promoting collaboration between the public and private sectors.
“Much of education and much of health is not in a bad place, it’s in crisis,” said Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations,Amina Mohammed. “People are faced with choiceless choices, for instance, having to choose health or water. We need solid institutions to be able to deliver services.”
Former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, noted that there is a saying that Health is Wealth but that “the saying is inadequate because ‘health is everything including wealth.”
