Usaid/SHOPs invest K105 million in private health sector
Usaid in partnership with Strengthening Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPs) has spent over K105 million ($3 million) towards improving service quality and sustainability of private practice with emphasis on the Christian Health Association of Malawi (Cham).
Speaking during a SHOPs stakeholders meeting on Thursday in Lilongwe at Crossroads Hotel, programme manager for SHOPs Vicki MacDonald said through an assessment they conducted, they discovered that Cham has enormous challenges which have an impact on the sustainability of the institution.
“When we first conducted an assessment in 2011 we found enormous challenges impacting the sustainability of Cham, and opportunities for better organisation, engagement, and financing of the growing commercial health sector” she told delegates who included officials from Cham, Usaid, and ministry of health.
“We identified critical organisational needs in Cham which we addressed by conducting business and financial management training, lean clinical efficiency training, and governance and board development, strategic planning, fundraising and grants development and also enterprise development. This was done to improve health outcome in Malawi,” she added.
The other major challenge was on government’s policy, governing service level agreements with Cham facilities SHOPs has since responded to the challenges by engaging the ministry of health through the Public-Private Sector approach project, to review the policy of government service level agreements that allow rural and poor population to access free public health care through Cham network facilities.
This intervention has managed to make Cham open up their 72 facilities to expectant mothers from rural areas who cannot afford to pay fees in hospitals to deliver free on agreement that government will pay them later.
“We are very overstretched as of now and we welcome the initiative by SHOPs to review the agreement of service level and also there is need for a revised price list and cost study due to fall of the kwacha,”said Cham monitoring and evaluation manager Steve Mkoko.
The current fee for delivery service is K12 000 (about $30), in Cham facilities hospitals per person which government is expected to pay to Cham per agreement with SHOPs. In some big private hospitals the fee is in excess ranges from K100 000 (about $250) to K250 000 (about $625).
Usaid Family Health Cluster leader, Ruth Madison said her organisation was satisfied with the work done but SHOPs and are committed to seeing health delivery service improve.
