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Franchising in Health: Emerging Models, Experiences, and Challenges in Primary Care

In the past decade a growing number of health franchising schemes have emerged in developing countries. Often reaching tens of thousands of poor households, these private schemes currently provide logistical, managerial, and sometimes financial support to small-scale providers (franchisees) of preventive care, such as family planning and maternal and child health services. While franchising has attracted growing interest among governments and donors as a possible way to achieve health objectives, there is some debate about the ability of the model to reach the poorest people and the ability of franchisers to sustain themselves financially.