Legislation in the works: Health foundation to oversee private sector participation

PESHAWAR:

The health department is set to revamp Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Health Foundation (KPHF) by constituting a unit to oversee contracts signed in the sector in a bid to encourage public-private partnerships.

The foundation that was initiated in 1996, will be revamped under the Restructuring of the Health Foundation Bill that will soon be presented in the provincial legislature. A summary of the new legislation, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, has been tabled with the law department for drafting.

KPHF will now have a more robust role in enhancing private-sector participation in the sector and making operational public-private partnership schemes for the provision of health services. The implementation of these policies will be a fundamental purpose of the foundation. It will now act as a contract management unit – monitoring contracts being signed by the department.

Comprising a six-member board selected by a search committee, the foundation will spearhead the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led government’s health reform policies by bridging the gap between the public and private sectors. The board is allowed to employ officers, advisers, consultants and other employees in service of the foundation. Also a KPHF fund will be set up.

Based on the new legislation, the foundation will be required to evaluate submitted proposals, and prioritise several sectors and facilities, including but not limited to diagnostic, primary and secondary health sectors, and nursing and paramedical education.

Board duties

“The oversight, guidance, management and general control of the foundation and its affairs will vest in the board which will exercise all powers and do all acts and things that may be exercised or done by the foundation,” the proposed bill adds. The board is bound to meet at least once every three months and decide upon matters with a consensus. The person chairing the meeting will have veto powers.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 30^th, 2015.