Public health priorities in Africa and the potential role of the business community
Conference Theme: “Integrating Business Solutions for Expanding Access: Perspectives from Africa’s Leaders”
I am grateful to the Corporate Council on Africa for inviting me to participate in this event. The theme of the conference “Integrating Business Solutions for Expanding Access: Perspectives from Africa’s Leaders” is very pertinent for countries of the African Region as they grapple with various challenges, including that of achieving the millennium development goals.
The organisers requested me to share with participants, the “Public Health priorities and strategies in Africa and the potential role of the business community in expanding access to health services”.
I. First I will refer to the key health challenges, priorities and strategies for Africa:
In 2008, the world lost 58.8 million human lives from various causes. The WHO African Region bore 18.6% of that burden, in spite of having just 10% of the world's population. Out of the 11 million deaths that occurred in the African Region:
- 64.7% were attributed to communicable diseases, maternal, perinatal and nutritional conditions;
- 27.6% to non-communicable diseases; and 7.8% to injuries.
The last United Nations report on the achievement of the health Millennium Development Goals shows that most African countries are not on track, despite progress in a few of them. This fact can be attributed to the following health system problems:
(a) Weaknesses related to formulation of comprehensive national health policies and strategic plans;
(b) Extreme shortages of health workers in 36 countries of the African Region;
(c) Inefficient systems of procurement and distribution of medical products and technologies;
(d) Lack of access to essential medicines for almost 50% of the population in the Region;
(e) Limited capacities of national health information systems;
(f) The “Digital divide,” i.e. inadequate use of information and communications technology (ICT), weak infrastructures and services; and low coverage of health services.
In the current context, the World Health Organization has established the following priorities in the African Region:
- Supporting the strengthening of health systems based on the primary health care approach;
- Putting the health of mothers and children first;
- Accelerated actions on HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other communicable diseases including neglected tropical diseases;
- Intensifying the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs); and
- Accelerating response to the determinants of health.
II. What are the Ministers of Health perceptions of the role of the business community or private sector in health development?
Since the set-up of the WHO Regional Office for Africa in 1951, the WHO Regional Committee for Africa in its 60 sessions has adopted a total of 752 resolutions. Forty-five (6 per cent) of these resolutions underscore the role of the private sector.
Of the 45 resolutions that foresaw private sector’s role, 22 were on Diseases Prevention and Control; 10 on Health Systems Strengthening; 8 on management of Health Risk Factors and 5 on Family and Reproductive Health.
III. About the potential role of the business community in expanding access to health services in Africa:
I will provide personal opinions based on my experience and knowledge.
On Strengthening Health Systems, I believe that national health policies and strategic plans should capture the public and private sectors. Of course, the private sector should participate in the implementation of the national health legislation(s) and International Health Regulations.
In terms of provision of health services, government may leverage the private sector services to:
- Construct and maintain health facilities;
- Supply and maintain health sector equipment;
- Provide catering, cleaning, laundry and transport services to health facilities; and
- Invest in private sector owned health facilities such as private hospitals, clinics and community-based health promotion services.
In terms of health information, the private sector can:
- Regularly provide statistics and information on health inputs and outputs from the private health sector;
- Make the necessary investments in e-Health infrastructure and services;
- The private sector can also conduct and fund biomedical research and health systems research aimed at discovery or improvement of health technologies; and improving access to health care.
In relation to medical products, vaccines and technologies, the private sector can:
- Complement government’s efforts in improving health logistics in specific aspects such as procurement, storage and distribution of medical products, vaccines and other technologies; and
- Collaborate in the enforcement of drug regulatory mechanisms and pharmacovigilance.
On matters of health financing, the private sector can contribute in strengthening national health financing systems for example:
- Developing or expanding private health insurance; and
- Paying premium contributions for their employees and families into national social health insurance schemes.
Concerning public health interventions for Reduction of Burden of Diseases the private sector has an important role in providing support to countries to:
- Produce and supply at affordable prices quality-assured health technologies including preventive tools such as vaccines, condoms, and long lasting insecticide nets.
- Implement the relevant articles of the WHO framework convention on tobacco control [39].
- Promote physical activity by creating space for recreational activity when constructing commercial and residential projects;
- Promote healthy diets through the quality of food industry products and providing accurate nutrition facts for consumers to enable them make well-informed and healthy choices.
- Reduce the harmful use of alcohol and its effects on health by not selling alcohol to the under-aged; and providing information on risks associated with alcohol abuse.
Ladies and gentleman, these are some ideas I wanted to share with you, on the ways the business community could expand its role and enhance the capacity and performance of health systems in Africa.
I wish to conclude my address by underscoring that the health problems and health systems challenges in the African Region are too complex for the public sector to address alone.
There is a clear need for the private sector to expand its role, but, bearing in mind the effective purchasing power of people! Just increasing the supply of health services is not sufficient for health development as most people in Africa are poor!
We should therefore, be able to manage quality, cost and access to health care, towards: improved quality of life, better health status of people and human development.
Thank you.