The Private Sector in Health Thematic Working Group examines the growing role of the non-state sector in delivering health care to people in developing countries and the related challenges and opportunities. The TWG encourages research that generates knowledge on this topic and provides opportunities for researchers, policymakers and practitioners to engage in policy debates.
If you would like to find out more about the Private Sector in Health TWG, the activities we will be involved in at the Symposium, or engage in this important area of research, why not:
- Visit us at the HSG stall in the Exhibition space
- Follow @psinhealth on Twitter
- Join the Private Sector in Health LinkedIn group
- Email us to start receiving the PSiH newsletter
- Join us at one of the exciting sessions listed below.
Official TWG sessions
| Session Type | Title | Short description | Date & time | Location |
| Satellite session | Engaging with Private Providers in Low and Middle Income Countries – Strengthening Quality of Care and Effective Regulation | Key themes are: Strengthening Quality of Care, Effective Regulation and Change and Innovation in the Private Sector.
Satellite session agenda (pdf) | Tuesday, October 9, 9:00 – 17:30 | Jury’s Inn Hotel |
| Organized session | Engaging with the private sector for UHC: what we have learnt | The thematic working group on the private sector will use its session at the symposium for a discussion of the implications of the massive expansion of the private sector for governments and other stakeholders. We will explore what we have learned about effective strategies for engaging with health markets to improve their performance in meeting the needs of all social groups. We will undertake these explorations in collaboration with the coalition to support UHC2030. | Thursday, October 10, 11:00 – 12:30 | ACC Hall 2F |
| Business meeting | TWG business meeting: The Private Sector in Health | The aims of the business meeting are to:
| Thursday, October 11, 7:45 – 9:00 | ACC room 12 |
Supporting documents for TWG sessions
- Satellite session agenda (pdf) and Satellite session parallel session outlines (pdf)
- Social Media Toolkit for Satellite Session (pdf)
- Private Sector in Health TWG – activities sheet (doc)
- HSR2018 Sessions on the Private Sector (pdf)
TWG member sessions
Session Type | Title of presentation | Short description of session/presentation | Date & time | Location |
Satellite Session | UHC in jeopardy: is rethinking private sector accountability the answer? A country simulation | Accountability of the private sector for UHC: What do we mean when we talk about accountability? Is it universally applicable in all contexts? How does accountability actually contribute to UHC outcomes? Etc. | Monday, October 8 9:00 – 11:00 | Room 2, 3, 4, Jury’s Inn Hotel |
Lightning oral session
| How does Health Insurance for the Poor Promote Equity? Evidence from Impoverished Households in India | Part of a panel of presentations on ‘‘Insuring’ health protection: who is left behind?’
| Wednesday, October 10, 11:00 – 12:30 | ACC Room 12 |
Participatory session | Engaging non-state providers (NSPS) towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC): practical learning for policymakers from a multicountry research program | Given their dominant role in service provision in many LMICs, there is an urgent need to effectively engage NSPs towards UHC. This session involving policymakers and researchers and comprising presentations of national experiences, participatory round table discussions and a panel discussion will provide actionable, learning to take forward this engagement. | Wednesday, October 10, 11:00 – 12:30 | ACC Hall 2F |
Lightning oral session
| Rethinking the Role of the Private Sector in Health – Lessons from Brazil and the Way Forward. | Part of a panel of presentations on ‘Tapping into the private sector: private providers and private finance for the SDGs’ | Wednesday, October 10, 14:00 – 15:30 | ACC Room 11C |
Lightning oral session | The role of private sector in health service delivery in smaller cities of Bangladesh | Part of a panel of presentations on ‘Tapping into the private sector: private providers and private finance for the SDGs’ | Wednesday, October 10, 14:00 – 15:30 | ACC Room 11C |
Plenary | Plenary – Private sector in health: polemic and pragmatism | The Alma Ata vision was premised mostly on the idea of publicly funded health systems providing health care for all. Little thought was given to the role of private sector providers (both not-for-profit and for-profit). Yet, forty years later, billions of people continue to seek care from the private sector, which is highly heterogeneous, often weakly regulated and poorly linked to the rest of the health system. | Thursday, October 11, 9:00 – 10:30 | ACC Main Auditorium |
Participatory session
| Is there a place for faith-based health services in a modern UHC-oriented LMIC health system? A debate drawing on empirical research and policy experience | There are wildly polarized opinions on the value and contribution of faith-based (for and non-profit) health providers in modern LMIC health systems. This session presents a lively debate, drawing on multisectoral perspectives, on whether there is place for FBHPs in an LMIC national health system moving towards UHC. | Thursday, October 11, 11:00 – 12:30 | ACC Room 1C |
Oral Presentation
| ‘A smile is most important.’ Why chains are not currently the answer to quality concerns in the Indian retail pharmacy sector. | Part of a panel of presentations on ‘Shaping healthcare markets to better meet population health needs’ | Thursday, October 11, 11:00 – 12:30 | ACC Room 4B |
Oral session
| Models of engagement between the state and the faith-based health sector in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review | Part of a panel of presentations on ‘Redefining public-private partnerships: new models in the for-profit and faith-based sectors’ | Thursday, October 11, 14:00 – 15:30 | ACC Room 4A |
Panel session | Participatory quality improvement initiatives in the urban for-profit private sector: lessons from Bangladesh and prospects for enhancing UHC in LMICs | The for-profit private sector provides the bulk of health services in urban areas. Weak regulation leads to unsafe and unnecessary procedures, and increased risks of catastrophic health expenditure. Researchers, private sector and policymakers consider novel approaches to quality improvement in this sector to enhance UHC in Bangladesh and globally | Thursday, October 11, 16:00 – 17:30 | ACC Hall 2E |
Lightning oral session | ‘Community delivery center is our first priority for child delivery’ : A PPP initiative for basic obstetric care among islanders of Indian Sundarbans | Part of a panel of presentations on ‘Engaging the private sector in service delivery’ | Friday, October 12, 9:00 – 10:30 | ACC Room 4A |
Lightning oral session | Universal Health Coverage through Linkages of Informal Healthcare Providers with the Private Sector: Social Network Analysis in a Disadvantaged Region of India | Part of a panel of presentations on ‘Strategic purchasing to enhance health systems: experiences and lessons’ | Friday, October 12, 11:00 – 12:30 | ACC Room 11C |
Oral session | Industrial development as a social determinant of health: building productive synergies | Part of a panel of presentations on ‘Multisectoral approaches to addressing the social determinants of health’ | Friday, October 12, 11:00 – 12:30 | ACC Room 3B |
Panel session
| I’ve got 99 problems but a phone ain’t one: Lessons from design, gaming, agriculture and education for using mHealth to create inclusive health systems | Mobile technology provides unprecedented access to healthcare providers, especially those outside organised public health systems. We know little about how technology can improve their participation in larger health system goals. This session presents lessons from different fields and approaches to mobile technology to discuss healthworker engagement in plural health systems. | Friday, October 12, 14:00 – 15:30 | ACC Room4A |
Oral session | Strengthening Health Facility Regulation for Patient Safety: Front line staffs’ perceptions of Kenya’s regulatory reforms | Part of a panel of presentations on ‘Influencing the performance of health service providers’ | Friday, October 12, 14:00 – 15:30 | ACC Room 3A |
Oral session | Is private sector the answer to achieving effective coverage and financial protection under publicly funded health insurance?: Evidence from Chhattisgarh, India | Part of a panel of presentations on ‘Contracting with private providers to achieve Universal Health Coverage’ | Friday, October 12, 14:00 – 15:30 | ACC Room 12 |
Poster presentation | The role and limitation of private actors in the realisation of SDG 3 and the right to health | In an effort to develop an in depth understanding of the human rights framework applicable to the involvement of private actors in health care, and States’ obligations where private actors are involved in the health sector, this paper proposes a preliminary human rights framework to reflect on the issue. | October 10 – 12 | ACC Hall 2M, Galleria & Level 3 |
Poster presentation | Analysing formulation and performance of Public Private Partnerships in health: Evidence from four case studies in India |
| October 10 -12 | ACC Hall 2M, Galleria & Level 3 |