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Trends and Opportunities in Public-private Partnerships to Improve Health Service Delivery in Africa

The report, in its first part, destroys three common myths regarding the private health care sector in Africa:

• First, that the private sector is for the rich and the public sector is for the poor;
• Second, that health is mainly financed by the public sector; and
• Third, that the private sector is not very developed in most African countries.

The second part of this report tries to answer the question, "How to engage the private sector effectively?", with examples of some successful public-private partnerships (PPPs), using the broad definition of PPPs in health as any formal arrangement between government and a private entity established for the purpose of providing health services. The report also highlights some of the new trends in public-private partnerships and how to make use of opportunities that present themselves. Finally, it identifies what governments, the private sector, and the World Bank Group could do better.