The Private Health Sector in West Africa: Six Macro-Level Assessments

Recognizing that the private health sector represents a key opportunity through which African countries can work to strengthen health indicators, the United States Agency for International Development West Africa Regional Health Office (USAID WA/RHO), asked the Strengthening Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) project to carry out macro-level assessments of the private health sector in six focus countries. The focus countries included four ECOWAS members — Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger, and Togo — in addition to Cameroon and Mauritania. To complement and strengthen WA/RHO’s 2012–2017 Family Planning Strategy and its 2012–2016 HIV/AIDS strategic plan, the objectives of the six-country assessment were set in the context of product and service delivery for FP as well as HIV and AIDS. Objectives included: 1) assessing the role of the private sector in the context of FP and HIV/AIDS; 2) determining the legal and regulatory framework governing the private sector with regard to FP and HIV/AIDS; 3) identifying key public-private partnerships and corporate social responsibility opportunities to expand FP and HIV/AIDS services; and 4) identifying local and international NGOs and commercial sector companies engaging in FP and HIV/AIDS activities. Outcomes of the macro assessments can be used by USAID West Africa as well as their FP and HIV/AIDS implementing partners to shape future activities.

To achieve these objectives, the assessment team began by compiling a review of both published and gray literature as well as available data from the most recent Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), national health accounts, and international donor reports. Assessment teams interviewed over 150 key stakeholders between December 2013 and March 2014 to validate findings from the initial literature review, fill information gaps, and determine partnership opportunities. The assessment team then analyzed quantitative data and qualitative interview responses to synthesize key findings and draft recommendations. At a March 2014 meeting in Accra, Ghana, USAID implementing partners validated these findings and recommendations and offered suggestions for revising the final report which was completed in September 2014.

Source: USAID
Year: 2014