Erica -- this is very interesting. We have documented many products (and gadgets!) and some of what you have highlighted certainly resonates with what we have found. One of the key things we found is that many products are not well-suited for the specific needs of what the health system needs or don't comply with any existing standards (the challenge is that many countries don't have their own standards especially for ICT where we see many programs). Many of these innovative products are dependent on other factors to support the processes, systems, and communities around them – or else you risk that the products don’t reach the target populations, or that when they do people don’t know how to actually use them, or they’re not available at an affordable price.
Carey - agreed. It's about working together to give customers (patients) more choice.
Totally agree
Agreed - health is often one of the trickiest fields to engage the private sector in (with the exception of, ahem, the US). It is considered a public good, so people turn to the government for all solutions. However, we all know that governments the world over are strapped for resources. The private sector can be a complement to government efforts. They can also completely disregard and pervert government systems, but done properly they can be a sustainable amplifier of good work.
Yes, the ColaLife work is really impressive. And it illustrates very well the need to work just as much on the demand side as on the supply side. Changing behaviour seems to be fundamental to just about everything we're trying to do in health, and in development more broadly.
This public / private relationship is incredibly important for LG to have impact - we have had to advocate to government to ensure high impact products like amoxicillin for pneumonia can be sold by community health workers. It is the private sector's responsibility to effectively engage central MOH and DHOs to meet minimum criteria for selection of agents and training. We try to do even better than just the minimum with comprehensive and ongoing training, rigorous selection of agents and ongoing M&E / supervision to remove non-performers and ensure impact.
Proving this strategy out to government has been key to gaining their trust.
One of the key things, Zahid, is building trust at all levels with the public sector and ensuring we engage - in this case - with the Ministry of Health's priorities. I think the private sector are very god at articulating their priorities. What we need to be better at is working out where the win-wins are with the public sector and demonstrating that we can make a difference. This allows you to have a more holistic relationship with governments and create greater connectivity between different systems. We need to realise this is a long-term strategy that may take many years to build up.
Agreed on the need to articulate that win-win, but go into discussions with MOH's needs first. Ongoing, not just one-off dialogue is most important.
We also know that in very many countries, because of the problems in public systems, most poor people actually get most of their health care from private providers. So I agree that the private sector should complement the public - we should talk more about the whole health system, including both public and non-state. The financing, on the other hand, needs to be predominantly public.
Bye everybody - great discussion. I'm reassured that we are on the same wavelength as others and also pleased to have learnt and thing or two.
Thank you.
Simon
colalife.org
Agreed - and that's why you need a solid company with long-term funding (or income) so that your proposition to the government and efforts to make those connections can take the time they need.
Thanks, Simon and all! Great discussion! We've learned a lot!
Erica, that's a good point. One of they key things that makes successful public-private collaboration work better is the fact that each side can identify where it adds value and how it complements what the other side is doing. For example, we recently looked into successful collaboration in the Philippines and how we’re seeing governments play a role in private sector innovation. Here is our blog on the subject.
That brings us to the end of this live session. This has been a fantastically rich discussion! Thanks to all our panel members for taking the time to join us today. And thanks to all those who tuned in!
We will leave this discussion open - please feel free to continue posting comments!
Be sure to check out all the health blogs and products in the Design Expo: http://designexpo.businessfightspoverty.org
Thanks all - would love to engage with anyone on these issues more. Please feel free to email at info@gradianhealth.org. Also, check out a talk I gave on some of these issues a few years ago: http://www.ted.com/talks/erica_frenkel_the_universal_anesthesia_machine?language=en
Thanks very much everyone for a great discussion. Bye for now.
Please head over now to the Twitter, where the Design Exp Twitter Jam is getting underway, using hashtag #bfpexpo - we're looking at "Designing for the Base of the Pyramid".
Thanks all -- great discussion! I look forward to following up with anyone interested in learning more about the innovations we have documented on CHMI including some of the great models that took part in the discussion today. You can visit us www.healthmarketinnovations.org.
Bye from me too. Let's keep talking.