Sustainability trough an ongoing work on relationship, accompanied by an operational monitoring system in respect of local needs and structures: this could be a recipe for a functional Hospital Partnership. The panel discussion run by the Initiative Hospital Partnerships - Partners Strengthen Health on an wide-ranking, international level attracted more than 150 persons. It demonstrated potently that a partnerships needs above all time. In this point all participants - coming together from Ethiopia, Malawi, Germany and Great Britain - totally agreed.
"The time factor is essential when it comes to a partnership", strengthened Adrew Likaka, Director E-Health and Quality Management at the the Ministry of Health in Malawi. Without any good planning, an intensive knowing-each-other and work on eye-level, a sensible cooperation would be useless. A fast running-through-trainings and later a leaving-the-staff-behind-attitude could not guarantee any sustainability, says also Dr. Annegret Kiefer, Chief gynaecologist at Hospital Eichsfeld in Thuringia/Eastern Germany. Kiefer has since 10 years a Hospital Partnership with Haramaya University in Ethiopia. Together with her Ethiopian colleagues she aims to improve knowledge transfer and therefore medical services in obstetrics and gynaecology for women. Her counterpart Prof. Yadeta Dessie told in details how both cooperate in order to involve the partnership on a fundamental level, for example by adding trainings and other elements into the annual operation plan of the hospital.
The key word in the discussion was sustainability.
This could be just realised when all related parties get and play a huge role according to Dr. Gisela Schneider from DIFÄM (Deutsches Missionsärztliches Institut e.V., Würzburg) The gynaecologist who works at the border Liberia-Guinea in order to improve main health care services for women, mentioned the Ebola-Outbreak and the impacted participative process there in 2014. "We asked the people: What do you need now and how would you install your health care system?" Asking the most disadvantaged brings the best orientation, said Dr. Shamsuzzoha Babar Syed from the WHO (World Health Organisation). The expert for twinning projects who works especially on quality issues has the opinion that a monitoring system which is created by all parties brings up the most outcome and impact. In this context Syed highlighted strongly the role of the Ministries of Health in the countries.
The panel discussion was followed by questions and remarks from the audience. A Nigerian public health expert noted that a Hospital Partnership could be lead by just European interests. This risk could be according to Dr. Syed minimalized by a sensible joined planning from the beginning. A Hospital Partnership can be a positive model for change and impact - this message was clearly spoken out this afternoon in Berlin.
The hosts of the session were the Federal Ministry of International Cooperation and Development of Germany and the German Foundation Else Kröner-Fresenius. Many participants used later on the opportunity to get in contact with the team member of the Initiative.
