CHORUS Paper: The Role of Contextual Factors in Private Sector Engagement: A Case Study of Private Sector Contribution to COVID-19 Mitigation in Nigeria

The CHORUS team at the University of Nigeria undertook a descriptive case study to explore the contextual factors that contributed to the private sector engagement and contribution to COVID-19 mitigation in Nigeria.

Like many other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria’s weak health systems, as well as political dynamics and government structures, did not allow it to respond in the most effective way when COVID-19 was first diagnosed, and the response was inhibited by staff shortages, weak medical supply chains, shortage of water and sanitation facilities, lack of surge capacity, and poor medical facilities that have persisted over time. The private sector took on a leading role in the pandemic response, and the Private Sector Coalition against COVID-19 (CACOVID) was established  to mobilize private sector resources toward supporting the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also set out to provide leadership functions, raise public awareness, provide buy-in for COVID-19 prevention, and provide direct support to strengthen the health system’s capacity to respond to the crisis.

In this paper, published by Frontiers of Public Health, Public Health Policy, the team examines the contextual factors that shaped the private sector engagement in the pandemic response with a view to identifying progress and learning opportunities for enhancing public-private partnership in advancing healthcare not just in Nigeria, but also in related countries in Africa and other developing countries.

Read the full article here: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.915330/full