Enforcing Public Accountability of Private Healthcare Sector
and Safeguarding Patient’s Rights 

COPASAH Thematic Hub on Patient’s Rights and Private Medical Sector Accountability, SATHI, India 

In many low and middle-income countries (LMICs) especially in South Asia and Africa, the private for-profit healthcare sector is playing pivotal role in providing healthcare. This has created many opportunities for better healthcare as well as posed significant challenges regarding quality, affordability of care, ethical practices and patient’s rights. There is growing need for a discourse on social accountability of private medical sector to protect patient’s interest in healthcare set ups, especially protection of patient’s rights. Keeping in view the need  for a platform bringing together activists and practitioners, which would help develop the discourse on accountability of the private for profit medical sector the COPASAH Thematic Hub on ‘Patient’s Rights and Private Medical Sector Accountability’ anchored by SATHI, Pune, India held a workshop on ‘Enforcing Public Accountability of Private Healthcare Sector and Safeguarding Patient’s Rights’. 

The workshop was held during People’s Health Assembly at BRAC CDM, Savar, Dhaka in Bangladesh November 17, 2018. The overarching objective of the workshop was to share experiences and discuss campaign and advocacy strategies to enforce public accountability of private-for-profit actors in health care, with focus on safeguarding the rights of patients. More than 70 health activists associated with People’s Health Movement from India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa participated in this workshop. This workshop emerged out to be a platform for promoting networking as well as facilitating exchange of experiences and perspectives among civil society organizations and networks working on issues related to private health sector regulation and patient's rights, with a focus on South Asia and Africa. 
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More details of the workshop can be accessed from the report available on: ​ https://www.copasah.net/uploads/1/2/6/4/12642634/report_of_workshop_in_pha_4.pdf