The International Health Co-operative Organisation (IHCO) has published a report on how co-ops are helping to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 3, Better Health and Wellbeing.
Released ahead of tomorrow’s International Day of Cooperatives (2 July), the report mentions a variety of ownership models in healthcare, including co-ops owned by healthcare professionals; co-operatives owned by patients and other service users; and multistakeholder co-operatives.
According to the report, some co-operatives focus on one type of service while others offer a vast array of general and specialised services. Co-operatives can offer medical services performed by doctors and/or other professional services such as nursing, physiotherapy, chiropractic or dental hygiene. The report explains that their role is not limited to the treatment and cure of diseases, but also covers preventative, palliative and rehabilitation services.
By providing these services, it adds, co-operatives contribute to the overall performance of health systems and complement public health systems. “In some cases, they offer services under the remit of public healthcare through direct concession contracts, offering a sustainable alternative that saves resources from government budgets.”
Co-ops also help to balance the market between public and private operators, says the report, which includes a series of case studies to show the value of the model.
The role of health co-operatives has been acknowledged by the 2021 UN Secretary General’s Report on Cooperatives in Social Development, which stated that “the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a sudden and massive increase in demand for health services, and health co-operatives in many countries were ready to provide support, relieving some of the pressures being faced by public health-care systems”.
In addition to providing an overview of the sector, the report makes recommendations to “ensure the fulfilment of their potential and to create a level-playing field” for co-operatives.
These include:
- ensuring that laws, regulations, and administrative procedures provide an enabling environment for co-ops and cater for their distinctive characteristics;
- providing specific financial tools to ensure the creation and development of co-operatives, particularly at the start-up phase;
- ensuring that co-operative development policies feature information, training, education, and research on the co-op model and its benefits for achieving public health objectives;
- encouraging co-ops in the health sector to organise under representative structures to advocate for policies that respect their business model in a more coordinated and efficient way.
The full report from IHCO and PromoCoop is available on IHCO’s website.
