Sustainable healthcare and service delivery will be one of the key focuses at the World Economic Forum on Africa, which will take place this week in Abuja, Nigeria, from the 7th – 9th of May.
Participants together with key government representatives will address the following key challenges under the theme Health Systems Leapfrogging in Emerging Economies:
Universal Health Coverage and Health Financing: How to ensure funding for health for all by introducing affordable “leapfrogging” initiatives that can deliver high quality care at a lower cost.
Leadership & Governance: How to create an enabling environment of multiple stakeholders to deliver high quality healthcare/
Human Resources: Exploring innovative approaches for human resources for health training to address health needs and ensure quality care – this should be different for Africa and be unique.
Health Service Delivery: How to revitalize integrated service delivery towards equitable access to health.
Community participation: how to empower communities to be effectively involved in the provision of their health care. Another challenge is to not only educate but to have qualified staff present in rural and lesson impact as a result of urbanisation.
Partnerships for Health: As South Africa has great PPP policies and plans, but they are ill-implemented. Nigeria now has the opportunity to set the pace in expanding healthcare in Africa, setting the benckmark. For Nigeria, participants will highlight a vision for the Nigerian health system by 2030 aiming to provide universal health coverage by building on the National Health Bill 2014.
Nigeria has approximately 14 percent of the number of doctors per capita of OECD countries. To catch up, the country would need approximately 12 times as many doctors by 2030 at a cost of $51 billion.
Robert Greenhill, Managing Director, Chief Business Officer and Member of the Managing Board, World Economic Forum, said that this is not a sustainable option and that higher investments do not necessarily translate into better health outcomes.
The conundrum Africa’s largest economy faces relates to finding innovative solutions, devising and plotting sustainable programs for impact in the healthcare sector.
A series of health workshops and sessions will be discussing ways in which Africa can leap over the mistakes that developed economies have made and catch up with them through affordable innovative and disruptive initiatives.
