Engaging Private Health Care Providers in TB Care and Prevention: A Landscape Analysis

Since 2001, WHO and its partners have offered support on engaging private providers for TB prevention and care, the need for which has been recognized in global TB strategies since 2006. Since 2002, the Public Private Mix Working Group of the Stop TB Partnership (formerly a sub-group of the DOTS Expansion Working Group) has held 13 global meetings on the subject. Several WHO guidance documents have been issued and a number of major reviews of the literature have been published (1–5). While considerable experience has been gained in a wide range of health market contexts, and some countries have made more sustained progress than others, overall engagement of private providers remains weak considering the important role of private providers in many high-burden countries. An essential premise of this document is that global and national goals in TB cannot be achieved unless private providers are engaged on a scale commensurate with their role in health systems. 

In this context, the purpose of the landscape analysis is ultimately to facilitate improved engagement of private providers, thereby contributing to universal access to quality and affordable TB care and the end of the TB epidemic. It focuses on the role of private for-profit providers and on specific challenges and experiences in engaging them for TB prevention and care.