Trends and Influence of Private Finance on Global Health Initiatives and Development Goals in Resource-constrained Countries

How efficient are the current global health architecture and the variants of private-public partnerships on global health policies and targeted achievements?

Project Summary

Over the last 20 years, the persistence of the global burden of diseases particularly in resource-constrained countries and the emergence of diseases raises concern about how global health goals can be met with the current governance of global health initiatives.

New models of collaboration and partnerships have emerged. At the national and also international level, a move towards private-public partnerships has gained prominence as a means to meet the health needs of the citizens especially in poor countries. The project aims at reviewing the impact of private finance on the governance and management of individual global funds, private-public partnerships (PPP) and organisations.

The main research question focuses on whether the current global health architecture and the variants of PPPs generate effective and efficient vehicles for implementing health policies and delivering desired health outcomes. The project represents the first comprehensive review and offers a comparative scientific analysis of the new approaches in terms of management and financing of global health initiatives and PPPs.

It will thus further contribute to the understanding of the consequences of the growing trend of private philanthropy in developing countries, particularly its impact on existing development assistance approaches and effectiveness of health policy arrangements within resources constrained countries. Results of this study will allow a better understanding of the global health architecture and the challenges it faces in the near future.

It will also contribute to the reflection on effective operational choices in achieving better health outcomes by providing clearer scenarios in terms of how to envisage more effective roles, functions and partnership arrangements of global development agencies and PPPs in mediating between the private capital and the public health needs.

Executive Summary

Global monitoring of financial flows for DAH as part of Official Development Assistance (ODA) continues to focus only on conventional OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) sources and fails to include these pivotal new actors, their programme activities, and their influence. Hence, the question was raised:How efficient are the current global health architecture and the variants of private-public partnerships on global health policies and targeted achievements? Semi-structured and key informant interviews with the staff and leaders of the Geneva-based organisations concerned were complemented as well as discussions with leaders and stakeholders in Chad, Ghana, Mozambique, and Tanzania. Primary sources of information included the Ministries of Finance and Health and Commissions of Science and Technology (regarding unconventional financing flows). Interviews with the GAVI Alliance, the Global Fund, Medicines for Malaria Venture, and the WHO revealed insights on the role of private donors in four global health organisations, changes in multilateralism, and lessons for multilateral organisations. The following elements influence the role of private donors in the four analysed global health organisations: (1) the historical and political context of its creation, (2) the composition of the governance structure of the organisation, (3) the clarity of the vision of the organisation, and (4) the dependency on the donor to function.

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Working Paper

Trends and influence of private finance on global health initiatives and development goals in resource-constrained countries

Over the last 20 years, the persistence of the global burden of diseases particularly in resource-constrained countries and the emergence of diseases raises concern about how global health goals can be met with the current governance of global health initiatives. New models of collaboration and partnerships have emerged. At the national and also international level, a move towards private-public partnerships has gained prominence as a means to meet the health needs of the citizens especially in poor countries. The project aims at reviewing the impact of private finance on the governance and management of individual global funds, public-private partnerships (PPPs) and organizations. The main research question focuses on whether the current global health architecture and the variants of PPPs generate effective and efficient vehicles for implementing health policies and delivering desired health outcomes.

The project represents the first comprehensive review and offers a comparative scientific analysis of the new approaches in terms of management and financing of global health initiatives and PPPs. It will thus further contribute to the understanding of the consequences of the growing trend of private philanthropy in developing countries, particularly its impact on existing development assistance approaches and effectiveness of health policy arrangements within resources constrained countries. Results of this study will allow a better understanding of the global health architecture and the challenges it faces in the near future. It will also contribute to the reflection on effective operational choices in achieving better health outcomes by providing clearer scenarios in terms of how to envisage more effective roles, functions and partnership arrangements of global development agencies and PPPs in mediating between the private capital and the public health needs.

Read the publication

Research Team

Marcel Tanner
Coordinator
Swiss TPH

Don de Savigny
Co-Coordinator
Swiss TPH

Stephen Browne
Principal Member
City University

Roberto Cordon
Principal Member
Franklin College

Ilona Kickbusch
Principal Member
Graduate Institute Geneva

Raymond Saner
Principal Member
CSEND

Lichia Yiu
Principal Member
Centre for Socio Economic Development

Thomas Weiss
Associated Member
City University

Status

completed

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SDGs

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