First Interregional Meeting on Private Healthcare Sector Governance

Today, the World Health Organization (WHO) opened the first interregional meeting on private sector governance in health to achieve universal health coverage (UHC). This first meeting of its kind convened by WHO provides a unique opportunity for key stakeholders to develop strategies for effective governance arrangements between governments and the private sector to ensure that private sector activities are aligned with health system goals.

The meeting will be held in Cairo, Egypt, from 15 to 18 June. It is attended by representatives from 5 WHO regions (AFRO, EMRO, EURO, SEARO, WPRO), including ministries of health, partners and WHO teams from global, regional and country levels.

The role of the private sector in ensuring health for all

The challenge ahead, which will be the focus of the meeting, is not so much whether countries should strengthen their cooperation with the private sector, but how to do so, given the complex mix of opportunities and threats that the private sector poses.

Dr Bruce Aylward / ADG, WHO/UHL

The global drive towards universal health coverage (UHC) and health for all faces significant challenges, as billions of people lack access to adequate health services. WHO emphasizes the need to reorient health systems towards a primary health care (PHC) approach as a cornerstone of UHC. PHC is based on three fundamental components: bringing health care as close to people’s everyday environments as possible; enabling communities to participate in decisions that affect their health; and intersectoral action to promote and protect health. This means that governments must not only provide direct health services, but also effectively manage and direct private sector contributions to health system goals.

The interregional meeting in Cairo is a forum for discussions on lessons and strategies to leverage the combined resources and knowledge of the private and public sectors to strengthen health systems. This includes initiatives, challenges and enablers for engaging the private sector to improve the capacity of the health workforce, improve maternal, newborn and child health, improve access and coverage in fragile and conflict-affected environments, and optimize supply chains, among others. The focus is on ensuring that all health services are of high quality, safe, comprehensive, integrated, accessible and affordable. This is in line with the broader WHO strategy to achieve universal health coverage by supporting strong governance in blended health systems.

New WHO guidelines for managing the private healthcare sector

During the event, WHO also released its latest technical guidance on private sector governance in health, entitled Progression Pathway for the Governance of Mixed Health Systems. The tool aims to provide Member States with decision-making support and capacity-building resources to help align public and private sector governance behaviors, capacities and instruments in pursuit of universal health coverage, health security and health system resilience. The tool builds on WHO’s strategic report Engaging the health service delivery sector through governance in mixed health systems and its technical assistance platform, the Country Connector for the private sector in health.