Private Healthcare in Developing Countries
Private Sector Health Services
In developing countries and areas of limited healthcare access, private providers act on the front line and are often the only form of healthcare available. Although the private sector plays an increasingly important role in healthcare in developing countries, it remains a new area of study and innovation. As governments of developing countries fall short of providing widespread access to care, and traditional charity-focused NGOs offer limited or temporary solutions, the private sector presents an opportunity for sustainable scale-up of healthcare services alongside social and economic development. Included in the scope of private sector agencies are both for-profit private providers, and NGOs that apply market-based approaches to service delivery.
Our Goal
The aim of this website is to present a brief and up-to-date review of the pertinent issues in private sector healthcare delivery. This work is not biased by outside funding sources or agendas, and the content is intended not only to serve as a resource, but also as a springboard for sharing information. Welcome.
This Site
Private sector topics are organized into two major categories: Service Delivery and Disease. Within this framework this site presents topics related to the delivery of private sector health services and goods in general, and disease-specific private sector services, respectively. For each topic, we provide a summary review of the issues at hand, current programs and approaches, and links to additional resources. The Resources page presents links organized according to topic area.
We welcome your feedback.
Pre-iHEA Symposium on the Private Sector: The 2009 Congress of the International Health Economics Association in Beijing has included a one-day symposium on the private sector. Presentations from the symposium can be found here.
Newsletter: We consolidate the most important article summaries, news stories, and event announcements into a two-page newsletter which we distributed electronically every two months. If you would like to receive this bi-monthly newsletter please fill in your email address here. Current or prior newsletters can be downloaded as pdf documents from here.
Publications
A conditional cash transfer program in rural Nicaragua increases overall vaccination coverage and equity.
An overview of 10 years of contracting-out public sector health services to private providers in Jalisco, Mexico.
A qualitative study of Nepalese conditional cash transfer program to determine issues that hindered the program’s goal of increasing coverage for skilled birth attendance.
An assessment of Uganda’s recent health sector reforms reveals mixed results in promoting access care to the poor in both public and private sector.
An exploration of the impact of a community-based health insurance program in rural Burkina Faso reveals a significant increase in outpatient service use, but with large socioeconomic variations.
An exploration of the impact of a community-based health insurance program in rural Burkina Faso reveals a significant increase in outpatient service use, but with large socioeconomic variations.
Out-of-Pocket Costs for Facility-Based Maternity Care in Three African Countries
A study comparing the costs of institutional child delivery in Kenya, Burkina Faso, and Tanzania in the public and private sectors.
Severe Road Traffic Injuries in Kenya, Quality of Care and Access
A comparison of public and private sector responses to road traffic injuries in Kenya shows lower access but higher quality in non-state hospitals.
News
Introduction to Health Systems, Online Course
11/13/09 - David Bishai of Johns Hopkins University and the Health Systems Board have published an online course to introduce users to health systems and current strategies to strengthen them.
Voucher Program Shows Success in Uganda
11/08/09 - A recent online article details an innovative voucher program run by Marie Stopes and funded by KfW and the Global Partnership on Output Based Aid which provides costless STI screening and treatment as well as child delivery and antenatal care.
Recent Initiative Uses Text Messages to Report Essential Drug Stock-outs
9/17/09 - A new initiative by Health Action International and a coalition of NGOs is using text messages from members of the public and health workers to report stock-outs of essential medicines at local clinics and pharmacies.The initiative, currently underway in Kenya, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Uganda, provides real-time information on medicine supply levels to facilitate improved forecasting and supply-chain management in these countries. Link
Public-Private Partnership to be Launched in Kenyan Public Hospitals
08/11/09 - Several public hospitals in Kenya are set to receive over $300 million dollars of investment from private equity funds in exchange for private management.The investment will be used to upgrade facilities, expand provider networks, improve the quality of healthcare services, as well as increase access for low-income individuals. Similar private-equity funded public-private partnerships are planned for Tanzania, Nigeria, Rwanda, Ghana, and Cote d’Ivoire. Link