Introduction

Public Private Partnership (PPP) has become a common approach to health care problems worldwide. Many PPP were created during the late1990s, but most of them were focused on specific diseases such as HIV/AIDS, and malaria. Due to the well-documented deficiencies of public sector health systems, the poor in INDIA are forced to seek services from private sector, under immense economic duress₁. Partnership with the private sector has emerged as a new avenue of reforms, in the past resulting from resource constraints for the public sector by various Governments across the world.

India has one of the highest levels of private-out of pocket financing to the tune of 87% in the world. Such mode of financing imposes debilitating effects on the poor. Hospitalization or Chronic illness often leads to liquidation of assets, or indebtedness. It is estimated that >40% of hospitalized people borrow money or sell assets to cover expenses and 35% of hospitalized Indians fall below the poverty line in one year. The inequalities in the health system are further aggravated by the fact that public spending on health has remained stagnant at around 1% of GDP (0.9%), against the global average of 5.5%. Even the public subsidy on health does not benefit the poor. The poorest 20% of population benefit only 10% of the public (State) subsidy on health care, while richest quintile (20%) benefit to the tune of 34% of the subsidies₂.

On the other hand, the private health sector in India has grown remarkably. At independence, the private sector in India had only 8% of health care facilities (World Bank, 2004) but now it is estimated that 93% of all hospitals, 64% of beds, 80-85% of doctors, 80% of outpatients and 57% of inpatients are in the private sector₂, ₃. Hence the possibility of a PPP in the health sector can be explored to meet the growing health care needs of the population; So that, PPP would improve equity, efficiency, accountability, quality and accessibility of entire health system.

The public private partnership has been defined by different organization as follows:

1. “Means to bring together a set of actors for the common goal of improving the health of the population based on the mutually agreeable roles and principles, (WHO 1999)”2.

2. “A form of agreement that entails reciprocal obligations and mutual accountability, voluntary or contractual relationships, the sharing of investment and operational risks, and joint responsibility for design and execution.2

3. A partnership means that both parties have agreed to work together in implementing a programme and that each party has a clear role and say in how that implementation happens ( Balgescu and Young, 2005)”2.

4. PPP is a variation of privatization in which elements of a service previously run solely by the public sector or provided through a partnership between the government and one or more private sector companies (En.wikepedia.org/wiki/Public_private_partnership 4). Unlike a full private scheme, in which the new venture is expected to function like any other private business, the government continues to participate in some way. These schemes are referred to as PPP.

5. Most commonly used definition in the health arena is that proposed by Kent Buse and Gill Walt (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)5 A collaborative relationship, which transcends national boundaries and brings together at least three parties, among them a corporation (and/ or industry association), and an inter government organization, so as to achieve a shared health-creating goal on the basis of a mutually agreed division of labour.

History of health related PPP

PPP's at an individual project level are not new. Merck's 1987 donation of “Mectizan” backed up by public and Philanthropic sector provision of the necessary infrastructure to utilize this drug effectively for onchoceriasis control is a shining example of what can be achieved through PPP₆. During the 1980s, political and economic disruptions in many areas of the world led to a reassessment of the basis of the reliance on the public sector for health care. Both national Governments and Global Economic organizations began to shift to an increasing reliance on the private sector for improvement in health and welfare systems₇.

The restructuring of the British National Health Service under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the restructuring of Mexican health care system as a part of the international response to its economic crises were examples of the movement towards privatization and increased reliance on market forces that became increasingly widespread. In November 2002, the WHO centre for Health Development in Kobe (Japan) convened the Global Symposium on Health and Welfare systems development, in which the participants stressed PPP as a strategy to improve the health and welfare services in developing countries. In the year 2003, the WHO centre for Health Development asked Stanford University researchers to assist in the development of a research protocol to evaluate the effectiveness of PPP model₇.

William Hsiao of Harvard University published the effects of these marketization efforts in the health care systems in four countries. He called for a collaborative effort by public and private sectors to confront the health care challenges of developing countries.

Around the same time, Hsiao published his analysis, perceptions about the role of private sector in providing health and welfare services were rapidly shifting. Instead of adopting a pure privatization model, increased emphasis was placed on establishing partnerships between the public sector and various organizations in the private sector. The term PPP became common and was typically referred to by its acronym.

In one of the articles published in 2000 and 2001 suggested that the challenges of the myriad unmet health needs of the developing nations can be met with by PPPs. An Editorial in BMJ referred PPP as “essential” for getting vaccines and new medicines to world's poorest nations. The enthusiasm for a PPP approach to global health problems arose in response to convergence of a number of forces during the mid and late 1990s. First, was the growing skepticism directed at a private sector approach. Second force was a growing pattern of collaboration in the U.S between the Govt., private universities and private pharmaceutical companies etc. as initiated by the Bayh-Doyle Act. Third force was the decision by the Rockefeller Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, etc. to rely on PPP model to address the growing worldwide crises of HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Tuberculosis and other major diseases₇. In 2003, the WHO centre for Health Development asked Stanford University researchers to assist in the development of a research protocol to evaluate the effectiveness of PPP model.

The Need for Partnership

Type of PPP's

Key Concerns/Issues To Be Addressed For Venturing Into Ppp

Pre-requisites for evolving effective PPP's

What are the problems/drawbacks such PPP'S? ,

Conclusions

PPP's are a central feature of global health landscape. The partnerships, however, clearly require improved system of institutional governance. System should be established with public sector agencies to ensure that the greatest possible importance is attached to protecting the public's interest₁₀.

There is few available data about the success or problem of using a PPP approach to improve the delivery of health and welfare services₁₁.

Further research on effectiveness of PPP's is needed before substantial resources are invested in the expansion of PPP efforts.

Correspondence to

Naveen Krishan Goel M.D Professor& Head, Department of Community Medicine, Govt.Medical College, Sector-32-B Chandigarh. goelnaveen@yahoo.co.in