Many of Africa’s health policies exist only on paper – World Bank/IFC report

A new World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) report has revealed that many health policies of African governments only exist on paper and are not implemented practically.

According to the report entitled “Healthy Partnerships: How Governments Can Engage the Private Sector to Improve Health in Africa”, thirty-nine out of 45 countries have a policy towards the private health sector, but only 12 are implementing them.

“Thirty-nine out of the 45 countries researched have a policy towards the private health sector, but only 12 are implementing them”, the report found out.

It added that “All 45 countries require private facilities to be inspected, but in only five countries are the inspections carried out as required.”

The report which was released today June 6, 2011 and copied to ghanabusinessnews.com, says if governments actively engage with the private sector in health, the pace of meeting health goals in sub-Saharan Africa could be accelerated.

By leveraging the public and private sectors, the report said health services can be expanded and the financial burden on governments will be eased.

The report which was based on an in-depth data collection in 45 countries on the African continent, is to describe the current engagement, or lack thereof, between the public and private health sectors.

The IFC and World Bank therefore call for government and private sector partnerships to expand Africa’s health services to save money and lives.

It is the first report to look systematically at the relationship between the public and private health sectors in Africa providing information aimed at both parties on what improvements can be made and how, the World Bank and the IFC say.

By Ekow Quandzie