Skip to main content
. 2021 Aug 30;11(9):1913–1925. doi: 10.34172/ijhpm.2021.100

Table 4. Private Sector Roles .

Role Actions Outcome Examples
Economic

  • Donations of PPE, ventilators, hospital beds, testing supplies, drugs, medical oxygen and cost of training for managing critical care patients

  • Support expansion of clinical care capacity locally

  • A large space dedicated to commercial activities was transformed into a transitory hospital to attend non-COVID-19 patients. It hosted 274 beds for low and middle complexity and was dismantled after five months of operation (Bogotá)

  • A non-for-profit development agency collected approximately 6 million dollars to install 149 intensive care units. A total of 170 000 PPE was delivered to the public and private hospital network (Bogotá)

  • An important private association donated to the University of Cartagena a robot to process large number of samples in its laboratory (Cartagena)

Strategic

  • Alliances with other organizations

  • Implementation of periodic intersectoral committees

  • Brokering relationships

  • Support decision-making

  • Establish consensus on public health actions

  • Promote intersectoral coordination by tackling common issues

  • The chambers of commerce in each city set up intersectoral tables to support decision-making and allocate responsibilities among key actors

  • A non-profit development agency in Bogotá and Cali that brings in international cooperation resources and has close ties with national donors became a key actor in supporting local governments

Logistic

  • Providing access to networks and supply chain "know-how"

  • Involvement of key actors in production chains

  • Optimization of logistic services

  • Textile industry supported national health bodies in the manufacture of facemasks and PPE to supply healthcare providers (Cartagena)

  • Animal feed industry provided gelatine from bovine for producing antifungal or antimicrobial required to PCR tests (Bogotá)

  • Non-for-profit development agency provided logistics for delivery of foodstuffs to vulnerable population (Cali)

Abbreviations: COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019; PPE, personal protective equipment, PCR, polymerase chain reaction.