Millions of people around the world have no reliable access to medical care. Health partnerships offer a strategic approach to strengthening healthcare systems in developing and emerging countries in a targeted manner. Business and development cooperation (DC) pool their respective expertise: Companies contribute their know-how, innovative products such as medicines, medical technology or digital solutions as well as practical implementation experience. Development cooperation takes over the political dialog and works to improve regulatory and structural framework conditions.
Together with the industry associations vfa and Spectaris, the GHA – German Health Alliance has developed the concept of healthcare partnerships and is actively promoting their implementation. The aim is to establish new cooperation models with specific projects and make better use of the potential of joint initiatives. Projects such as the Ghana Heart Initiative and the Biomedical Engineers training initiative show that the private sector is prepared to take on responsibility – even independently of public funding. However, with targeted support from development cooperation, for example in the form of financial aid or development loans, the impact of such projects could be significantly increased.
