Africa's health systems need good partnerships

Africa's health systems are in need of new treatment if they are to recuperate and gain enough strength to move the continent towards meeting the health-related Millennium Development Goals.

The diagnosis is poor: while the continent has about 11% of the world's population, it carries 24% of the global disease burden, yet has only 3% of the total health workforce.

Almost half of the world's deaths of children under five take place in Africa, and the maternal mortality ratio is the highest in the world. HIV, tuberculosis and malaria still claim the lives of large numbers of people, while there is an alarming rise in the incidence of non-communicable ailments like cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

In 2001 in Abuja, Nigeria, the heads of state from the African Union (AU) committed to allocating at least 15% of their annual budgets from domestic resources to improving the health sector.

The Abuja commitment has since been referred and restated on various platforms, but seven years later no tangible progress has been made, despite the fact that this endorsement was strongly championed within and beyond the region.

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu added his voice to say that this was one of the most important commitments that African leaders had made to health development and heads of states should strive to meet the pledge without further delay. He said the continued loss of lives annually, which can be prevented, was unacceptable and unsustainable and the leaders know what they have to do.

NGOs and other civil society organisations are ideally placed to offer experience and expertise on the ground, working with communities to identify their health needs and developing solutions that are relevant and sustainable.

They can offer knowledge of remote communities that will support the governments' efforts and successfully influence behaviour and drive change. With clear strategies based on business models that work, civil society organisations are instrumental in driving partnerships that help governments to fulfill their commitments and corporates to achieve their social investment goals. It is vital to establish partnerships that successfully harness the financial and innovative resourcefulness of the private sector, structural reach and policy support of the governments, and the technical expertise and community experience of NGOs.

Ultimately, achieving Africa's health development agenda will require a shift from traditional approaches to new and innovative ways that bring private and public players together. Indeed, there is growing public expectation of the role that the private sector should play in social development.

However, to enable the private sector to be more engaged in health development, creation of a conducive policy environment is critical. Creating shared value will encourage partners to interact with each other, yielding financial returns on investment and achieving development objectives - a win-win situation for all.

By Penina Ochola Odhiambo: Reuters, 6 October 2011