Abt To Bolster Private Sector Health Services in Benin
ROCKVILLE, MD – Abt Global will lead USAID’s Private Sector Health Partnership Activity (PSHPA) in Benin. The $9.8 million, five-year project is tasked with increasing the use of high-impact reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH) services and products delivered by the country’s private sector.
Abt is helping to improve Benin’s underperforming health market, uneven quality of services and inefficient regulatory environment working in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health and with partners Medical Care Development International, EnCompass and, locally, Plateforme du Secteur Privé de la Santé (PSSP), L’Agence Nationale des Petites et Moyennes Entreprises and La Coalition des Entreprises Béninoises et Associations privées pour la lutte Contre le SIDA, la Tuberculose et le Paludisme. This effort will involve working with private sector stakeholders and other government agencies to improve how RMNCH products and services are delivered to the population. PSHPA has four program components:
- Expanding the volume of quality, high-impact RMNCH services delivered by private sector providers. Abt will increase the number of registered and accredited private sector providers. We’ll help them improve the quality of their services through training in accessing finance and service delivery and management. We’ll also work with financial institutions to increase lending to the private sector. Further, we will facilitate increased private sector reporting and the implementation of quality norms and standards for the private health sector.
- Increasing the availability of affordable and quality health products through private sector channels. Along with national stakeholders, we’ll improve health sector-wide knowledge of pricing, availability and quality of health products to improve efficiencies within the total market for commodity planning. The goal is to expand the availability of RMNCH products nationwide.
- Strengthening public-private engagement to promote universal RMNCH outcomes. Abt will provide institutional and technical support to Benin’s national private sector health association, PSSP. We’ll develop PSSP’s leadership role, management capacity and the organization’s institutional governance to better serve as the voice of the private sector and to assist with the regulation and accreditation of private facilities.
- Identifying, piloting and applying innovative, successful, private sector models. We’ll assess potential models to improve private sector service delivery. Then, in collaboration with the government of Benin, PSSP and other relevant stakeholders, we’ll choose one model to pilot and scale up throughout the country.
“We’re excited to partner with the people of Benin to significantly enhance health services for mothers and children,” said Cristine Betters, Abt Regional Managing Director. “Abt has extensive experience helping governments to better incorporate the private sector into their national policies and strategies while working with private sector stakeholders to improve how they deliver their services."
About Abt Global
Abt Global is an engine for social impact, dedicated to moving people from vulnerability to security. Harnessing the power of data and our experts’ insights, we provide research, consulting and technical services globally in the areas of health, environmental and social policy, technology and international development. http://www.abtglobal.com
Contact:
Mary Maguire
Mary_Maguire@abtassoc.com
301-347-5859
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