To ensure an effective and sustainable stewardship model, the public and private sectors must not only build a strong relationship based on trust, but learn to leverage their respective comparative advantages. It is important to note that becoming a steward does not decrease a government’s responsibilities for key supply chain functions. When embracing a stewardship role, governments will usually identify the need to strengthen key functional capabilities such as governance, financing, workforce capacity, processes, and systems. These functional capabilities typically take longer to develop, and if countries choose not to invest in them, the supply chain operation efficiency gained is likely to be diluted.
Assessing the Feasibility of Private Sector Engagement
Before engaging the private sector, we recommend conducting a government-led situational analysis to assess if all actors are ready to trust each other and work together; if the government has the capacity to become stewards of the health supply chain; if the right enabling environment for the private sector to thrive exists; and even if the private sector has the capacity to assume the expected role. Rather than a prescriptive approach, we suggest a pragmatic one that accounts for the root causes and proper sequencing of supply chain problems to be solved, as well as careful preparation for the financial mechanisms and management to enable PSE. This approach allows relevant actors to make informed choices about the timing and types of PSE that may be appropriate in a country’s broader context.
Benefits and Challenges of Collaboration
Perceived challenges in the collaboration between public and private sector actors still exist; trust is often lacking, as their motivations are not commonly aligned. Further, governments may have concerns about a loss of control over operations, while the private sector may worry that it will not receive the operational and financial support from government to reach expected returns on investment. However, the benefits of shared risks and opportunity for growth, access to innovation and expertise, and operational efficiencies can overcome these challenges. The private sector can help improve supply chain performance and accelerate supply chain maturity, creating a more mature supply chain that can facilitate greater PSE. Highlighting the bidirectional and dynamic beneficial nature of PSE is therefore critically important.
Embracing a government stewardship model and private sector-led health supply chain operations could be a game-changing innovation for countries in a variety of operating environments and of different health supply chain maturity levels. It is a useful tool for LMICs seeking to build resilient health supply chains and achieve scalable, sustainable, and impactful health outcomes.
Learn more about Chemonics’ thinking on Private Sector Engagement to Advance and Sustain Health Supply Chain Resiliency in our recent white paper here.
Posts on the blog represent the views of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of Chemonics.
