OYO State Governor, Seyi Makinde, had lent credence to public-private partnership (PPP) in the health sector, acknowledging that through such partnerships, the state is funding many developmental projects without having to pay contractors mobilisation fees.
Governor Makinde, who was the special guest at the presentation of two books by the former Chief Medical Director of the University College Hospital (UCH), Professor Temitope Alonge, said Alternative Funding Project Approach (AFPA), a form of public-private partnership model of funding, has allowed the state government to execute projects without paying upfront 100 per cent.
The books presented were titled “Public-Private Partnership in Health UN Global Compact Models at the University College Hospital, Ibadan” and “Driven by Passion, Enabled by Grace: My Service as the 7th CMD/CEO of the University College Hospital, Ibadan”.
Governor Makinde stated that “PPP is the saving grace for Oyo State right now”, adding that “for us, by the time some of the projects are being handed over to us, the government would have paid maybe 35 to 38 per cent of the total cost.”
Mrs Tolani Mosuro, a reviewer of “Public Private Partnership in Health UN Global Compact Models at the University College Hospital, Ibadan”, said over the years, funding has continued to dwindle at the hospital since 2012, but six key projects at the hospital were able to meet the healthcare needs of the patients of the hospital through PPP interventions.
According to her, one of the projects, the PPP laboratory established in collaboration with Fidelity Bank, at N90,500,000 served 312,731 patients and generated N989,682,576 over 36 months.
Mrs Mosuro declared: “The various projects have demonstrated the need for creative and prudent private participation in improving medical care to the public. They have also demonstrated that for those projects that were undertaken, it is a win-win situation.
“There has been good service delivery; the equipment has been brought; revenue has been generated and not only that those equipment belong to UCH at the end of the project, staff have also been trained and up till today, revenue is still being generated because the equipment is still functioning.”
Professor Alonge, speaking at the book presentation, said: “The PPP model in health is good business. If the health sector can provide 33 per cent of the GDP of India, how can health be a social service? If you put health as a social service, we will never make progress in the health sector. For me, health is a business; you treat it as a business. In this PPP book, there are models that can help you to achieve that.”
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents
In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state.