Prime Minister Anastase Murekezi, yesterday, called upon the region’s private sector to take a lead in enhancing service delivery acoss the health sector of the five-member East African Community (EAC) bloc.
Opening the fourth conference of the East Africa Healthcare Federation (EAHF), in Kigali yesterday, Murekezi said the new landscape of global health care shows tremendous opportunities for healthcare providers in enabling the regulatory environment.
“When talking about health systems, people tend to think about primarily public sector and give less importance to the private sector. And this is of course wrong.
‘‘The main role of governments in the health sector should primarily be putting in place the vision, policies and regulations,” Murekezi said.
“The private sector has to play a very big role in the implementation of national healthcare programmes, including quality clinical services, health insurance schemes, investments in health infrastructure, equipment and their supply, in partnership with governments, health based organisations, the civil society and development partners.”
For Rwanda’s case, he said, the push should be viewed in the prisms of the government agenda where the private sector is expected to be the key driver of the economy.
Murekezi said that due to private investments in the health sector, Rwanda has recorded such achievements as establishment of 70 private pharmacies, 249 retail pharmacies, 206 private health facilities including two hospitals, 19 polyclinics and 65 clinics.
Participants are examining the role of the private sector in financial sustainability of healthcare delivery systems.
“I want to assure all of you that the governments of the East African Community will be happy to receive your recommendations and give them special attention for implementation,” said Murekezi.
Dr Rogers Ayiko, a global health specialist working at the EAC Secretariat as the Principal Health Systems and Policy Officer, said that during the fifth annual East African Health and Scientific Conference held in Kampala, in March, one of the key issues discussed was delivery of services and financing.
The Kigali conference, he added, comes at an opportune moment when the EAC is looking at a number of policies including a protocol of regional cooperation on health; and an EAC health policy which has universal health coverage and improved financing among objectives.
The New Times
UM– USEKE.RW
