Research and Learning on: HEALTH POLICY

Most countries have pluralistic health systems, where a mix of public and private providers deliver health related goods and services. An important challenge in governing mixed health systems relates to the diversity of characteristics and interests of stakeholders involved. Health systems include a large variety of entities, from public to small not-for-profit providers to large multinational private for-profit companies. Entities respond in very different ways to governments efforts to steer public policy for UHC and require a variety of tools and incentives. An inclusive health policy therefore should set out the rationale for private sector engagement and respective roles for the different types of private sector entities, including the means through which this will be achieved.

The Country Connector aims at developing technical resources on the development and implementation of national health policies that are inclusive of the different parts of the private sector in health, to maximize countries' efforts towards the achievement of UHC. To do so, it will use a collaborative and iterative process. This will employ the design of interim “modular” products as a basis for engaging all stakeholders in the process of refinement and/or further inquiry. This approach is proposed as a means of improving the utility and application of the technical resource.

Engaging the private sector in Africa for more responsive, resilient, and equitable health systems

Over the last five years most African countries have integrated universal health coverage (UHC) as a goal in their national health strategies. Yet, progress in translating this commitment into equitable and quality health services, and increased financial protection, has been slow. The African Union (AU)’s “Addis Ababa Commitment toward Shared Responsibility and Global Solidarity for Increased Health Financing Declaration” (1) – also known as the ALM Declaration - seeks to galvanise greater cooperation between the public and private sectors to deliver sustainable, effective, efficient and equitable health and safeguard health security.

Governance of Health Systems: A Data Journey

Health systems embody people, institutions, and resources arranged together following policies established by a government to improve the health of the population it serves1. Within the health sector, arrangements are intended to improve health system performance - equity in the use of health services, service quality and financial protection. Most countries have pluralistic health systems, where a mix of public and private entities deliver health related goods and services. This may include a large variety of private entities, from small not-for-profit providers to large multinational private for-profit companies.

How to develop inclusive national health policy for the private sector in health

The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), and specifically SDG 17, call for cooperation, collaboration and partnership between government, civil society and businesses to reach the agenda’s goals. In the health sector, this creates a strong imperative to find ways to effectively harness and steer both the public, private and civic sectors to achieve health goals and targets, specifically the SDG target 3.8 on achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC), including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.1 This brief builds from a 2019 call to action on the private sector in health for UHC.1 It aims to support countries in developing and implementing public health policy that is inclusive of the different parts of the private sector in health to maximize efforts towards the achievement of UHC.

Governance of the private sector in health: Entry points in the policy cycle and learning from practice

This brief aim at understanding policy development and the active role of policy entrepreneurs in the process. Our interest is in relation to the private sector in health and entry points for engagement.

Policy
Research

Governance of the private sector in health: A public health policy framework approach

The focus of this brief is on strengthening government inclusive health policy to respond to the growth in scope and role of the private sector in health.

Policy
UHC

Governance of the private sector in health: Insights from policy analysis

As part of “how-to” develop inclusive national health policy for the private sector in health, we reviewed how countries, particularly those classified as lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs), include the private sector in health within their national health policies.

Policy
UHC
Research