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Published on: 27/10/2014

At the moment trade is seriously hampered by the Ebola outbreak. In her key-note speech the Minister of Gender and Development of the Republic of Liberia, Mrs. Julia Duncan-Cassell, emphasized the necessity to cooperate in ending the Ebola crisis in West Africa.  The economy has been badly affected by the crisis, food prices are rising and poverty is becoming even more of an issue. Poverty is also one of the reasons Ebola is spreading because people lack access to basic needs such as water, food, shelter and health care facilities. Moreover, illiteracy, especially amongst women, increases the risk of misinformation. Development and economic empowerment are needed to overcome the current crisis. 

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs represented by His Excellency the Ambassador of the Netherlands in Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Togo, Mr. Hans Docter, presented different initiatives to improve infrastructure in Africa. Examples of such PPPs are a new port in Monrovia as well as a Water Plant in Accra, these were discussed during a workshop at the event.

The PPPLab was the topic of another workshop. This is an action research and joint learning initiative to enhance the relevance, effectiveness and quality of Dutch supported PPPs. The PPPlab is collaboration between the Partnership Resource Centre, Aqua for All, the Centre for Development Innovation of Wageningen University and SNV. A number of themes were covered during the workshop: 1) Innovation; 2) Public-private partnership: the role of each actor; 3) Business models; 4) Building partnerships and 5) Life after PPPs.

Shell, PharmAccess and the Dutch government work together in Nigeria to achieve universal health coverage. Public resources are limited so PPPS are increasingly promoted as important instruments for healthcare development in Africa.  Each partner can play a role in contributing to changing the financing and delivery of care.

The Africa Works! event was closed by the Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Mrs. Lilianne Ploumen. She was handed a petition signed by all participants urging her to accelerate help to Ebola victims in West Africa. 

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