On Friday, the 63rd World Health Assembly passed a resolution called, “Strengthening the capacity of governments to constructively engage the private sector in providing essential health-care services,” spearheaded by the delegation from Thailand.

Many of the ideas contained in the resolution emanated from the Working Group on the Role of the Private Sector in Health Systems in Developing Countries, which was convened by the Rockefeller Foundation, the Thai International Health Policy Program, and Results for Development in 2008. This Working Group commissioned a number of studies conducted by R4D and various technical partners which can be found on the Role of Private Sector in Health Systems project page.

The resolution and accompanying report by the secretariat acknowledge that private providers are a major source of care in most countries, that private provision of services can lead to innovation as well as great challenges, that the private health sector has been regulated and financed by governments in high-income countries, and that governments in low and middle income countries can more effectively engage with and regulate private providers.

Click here to view the resolution on the WHA website:
http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA63/A63_25-en.pdf