Giving Compass' Take:
- Matthew Eldridge and Charles Cadwell examine how public-private partnerships can be used to support the development of services like health care in developing countries.
- How can funders support further research into the effectiveness of public-private partnerships?
- Read more about public-private partnerships.
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Strong public health systems are key to advancing individual and collective well-being, community resilience, and sustainable development. These systems and the benefits they provide depend on the provision of a range of accessible, affordable goods and services such as clean water, prompt medical care, and healthy housing and transportation options.
But in many developing countries, services do not meet basic needs nor serve growing demand. The scale of the challenge is daunting; some estimates place the annual global investment gap in two sectors alone—health and water and sanitation—at $620 billion. Addressing this gap will depend on identifying new sources of investment capital and the technical expertise and managerial know-how to implement and manage complex projects. This underscores the need for alternative approaches to the status quo. A market-based model, which leverages private partners to efficiently expand service access while maintaining specific quality standards, could help.
Many countries, especially poorer ones, have a large private market for services often considered public services in richer countries. These markets and providers fill a gap but not always in ways that maximize accessibility or significantly advance sustainable development goals. For example, people experiencing poverty in informal settlements often pay more for trucked water than wealthier neighbors with access to piped city water. Yet it is expensive to build infrastructure to deliver water, health care, or other services to people in such communities.
Governments can try to expand access to better services directly or they can contract out to a private firm. But both approaches can leave the government with a significant financing and management burden and can lead to underinvestment in ongoing operations and maintenance.
Read the full article about improving health outcomes in developing countries by Matthew Eldridge and Charles Cadwell at Urban Institute.