Is private health care the answer to the health problems of the worlds poor?
A provocative debate in this week’s PLoS Medicine examines whether the private sector should step up its involvement in delivering health care in low-income countries. These countries suffer a disproportionate burden of disease, and often struggle with weak health systems. Both the public and private sector deliver health care in these countries, but the appropriate role for each of these sectors in health system strengthening remains controversial. Richard Smith (Ovations Chronic Disease Initiative, London, UK) and colleagues argue that in the developing world “the private sector’s role in health care should be strengthened and more closely aligned with the public interest.” They discuss evidence showing that “private contractors can operate on a large scale, be more cost effective than government-provided services, and increase coverage in poor and remote areas.” The authors argue the case for supporting public-private partnerships for health system strengthening. Improving health ca
