Rethinking Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in Healthcare: Integrating Social Impact into the Working Model
Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are collaborations between the public and private sector organizations i.e. for profit, not for profit, faith-based or NGOs. These engagements can be in the form of institutional arrangements ranging from simple collaboration, joint venture programs, direct contract lease and concessions among others (Mwageni, December 2006). PPPs are forged with to meet a common need which either entity alone cannot be able to realize (Thadani, 2014). In most cases, they are designed to take advantage of the strengths of both parties in a structured arrangement i.e. better managerial competencies in the private sector and huge resource pool in the public sector to realize a common goal. The benefits attributed to PPP’s include improved physical access to services in under-served areas, efficiency in the use of health resources by leveraging technical and managerial competencies of the private sector, prevent impoverishment of the uninsured& marginalized individuals, equity in access to services not available in the public sector, improved health infrastructure, regulatory and oversight on health standards (Bjorkman, 2015). These benefits double as the partners’ aspirations in such arrangements especially within the confines that health is a social need that falls within the premise of governments to ensure access while private entities have an interest for their business success.
