The Private Sector and Public Health

This chapter provides an introduction to the book and an overview of the types of private providers of healthcare and health services in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).In most countries, healthcare services are delivered by a combination of both public and private providers – pharmacies, clinics, hospitals, and everything in between. While governments are responsible for the overall management of healthcare, including the education of health professionals, the provision of medical supplies, disease outbreak surveillance, and assuring the quality of care, they are not responsible for all provision of care and seldom pretend to that role.During the past decades, population growth and limited tax revenues have, in some countries, exacerbated inadequate governmental health financing and therefore increased the importance of, and reliance on, private provision as citizens seek care outside of government facilities. Aging populations, the epidemiological shift toward long-term management of non-communicable diseases, growing private investment, ease of access to information, and greater awareness and higher expectations among patients have all contributed to the increasing importance of private healthcare provision in many LMICs.