All Health Partnerships, Great and Small: Comparing Mandated With Emergent Health Partnerships; Comment on “Evaluating Global Health Partnerships: A Case Study of a Gavi HPV Vaccine Application Process in Uganda”

Document Type : Commentary

Authors

1 Independent Health and HIV&AIDS Consultant, Hampton, UK

2 Tropical Health and Education Trust, London, UK

Abstract

The plurality of healthcare providers and funders in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) has given rise to an era in which health partnerships are becoming the norm in international development. Whether mandated or emergent, three common drivers are essential for ensuring successful health partnerships: trust; a diverse and inclusive network; and a clear governance structure. Mandated and emergent health partnerships operate as very different models and at different scales. However, there is potential for sharing and learning between these types of partnerships. Emergent health partnerships, especially as they scale up, may learn from mandated partnerships about establishing clear governance mandates for larger and more complex partnerships. By combining social network analysis, which can detect key actors and stakeholders that could add value to existing emergent partnerships, with Brinkerhoff’s comprehensive framework for partnership evaluation, we can identify a set of tools that could be used to evaluate the effectiveness and sustainability of emergent health partnerships.

Keywords

Main Subjects


  1. Lorenz N. Effectiveness of global health partnerships: will the past repeat itself? Bull World Health Organ. 2007;85(7):501-568.
  2. United Nations. Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld/publication.  Accessed February 12, 2017. Published 2015.
  3. Partnerships UIH. Global compact for progress towards universal health coverage.  https://www.internationalhealthpartnership.net/fileadmin/uploads/ihp/Documents/About_IHP_/mgt_arrangemts___docs/UHC_Alliance/UHC2030_Global_Compact_WEB.pdf.  Accessed May 23, 2017.
  4. Cadée F, Nieuwenhuijze MJ, Lagro-Janssen ALM, Vries RD. The state of the art of twinning, a concept analysis of twinning in healthcare. Health 2016;12(66). doi:10.1186/s12992-016-0205-5
  5. Kamya C, Shearer J, Asiimwe G, et al. Evaluating global health partnerships: a case study of a Gavi HPV vaccine application process in Uganda. Int J Health Policy Manag. 2017;6(6):327-338. doi:10.15171/ijhpm.2016.137.
  6. Popp J, Milward HB, MacKean G, Casebeer A, Lindstrom R. Inter-Organizational Networks: A Review of the Literature to Inform Practice. IBM Center for The Buisness of Government; 2014.
  7. Principles of Partnership. THET website.  http://www.thet.org/pops/principles-of-partnership.  Accessed June 5, 2017.
  8. Harris M, Weisberger E, Silver D, Macinko J. 'They hear "Africa" and they think that there can't be any good services'--perceived context in cross-national learning: a qualitative study of the barriers to Reverse Innovation. Glob Health. 2015;11:45. doi:10.1186/s12992-015-0130-z
  9. Chisholm G, Green E, Simms B. In our mutual interest. Tropical Health and Education Trust; 2016.
  10. Kelly E, Doyle V, Weakliam D, Schönemann Y. A rapid evidence review on the effectiveness of institutional health partnerships. Glob Health. 2015;11:48. doi:10.1186/s12992-015-0133-9
  11. Brinkerhoff JM. Assessing and improving partnership relationships and outcomes: a proposed framework. Eval Program Plan. 2002;25(3):215-231. doi:10.1016/S0149-7189(02)00017-4