Health PPPs : Ground breaking policy brief by WHO

A much-needed perspective for MICs decision makers!

The WHO Europe Office for Health Financing in Barcelona released on 18th January a policy brief that was much expected by the community of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) practitioners, and more broadly by the ecosystem of experts working on project finance, procurement, contract arrangements, as well as capital investment in health.

This unprecedented document named “Public–private partnerships for health care infrastructure and services: policy considerations for middle-income countries in Europe” is now available to download (click here).

It offers the perspective of well-known health PPP expert Dr Mark Hellowell from Edinburgh University with the support of WHO's Senior Health Economist Ms Triin Habicht.

Dr Hellowell also shared his unique perspective and highlights the most salient points of the policy brief in a blog that your Decide Hub is very honoured and privileged to publish: click here.

As you know, Decide works extensively on capital investment in health and PPPs, a topic which is regularly covered in our newsletters. 

It is therefore with a lot of excitement that we draw your attention onto this important step taken by WHO to elicit debate, thoughts and explicit different models of PPPs that can be pursued by health systems stewards.

Looking at the potential offered by these complex public law contracts whereby public authorities entrust the delivery of a stream of services, often linked to infrastructure projects, based on performance and risk-sharing requires both a knowledge of the health sector as well as expertise in public finance, engineering, and law.

While PPPs in other sectors are often documented extensively, the health sector is missing a substantial body of evidence, expertise as well as recommendations to make the best of these instruments when needed.

This policy brief is therefore a foundational step towards better understanding the use, the potential opportunities, and pitfalls of some of the widespread PPP models.

This net contribution of WHO and Dr Hellowell to the PPP global conversation will not stop here, and a webinar will be soon organized by your Decide Hub to further present this policy brief as well as to share and discuss the latest trends and ideas in the field of health PPPs.

Stay tuned as we will soon let you know more about this exciting event!