Private health care in developing countries

doi:10.1136/bmj.324.7328.47

BMJ 2002;324:47 ( 5 January )

Letters

Private health care in developing countries

Access cannot be equated simply with supply

Strong public provision is only hope for health care in developing countries

Access cannot be equated simply with supply

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR $---$ Zwi et al in their editorial suggest means by which governments in developing countries should try to harness privateproviders to improve the health of their citizens.¹ A recentarticle by Whitehead et al, however, points to a medical povertytrap, created by the introduction of user fees for public servicesand the growth of out of pocket expenses for private services.²The authors conclude that the main challenge in developing countriesis to improve public health services and enable the poorest sectionsof society to obtain the health care theyneed.

India has experienced a massive growth in private health provision despite high public investment in health services. Severalstudies have shown that there is a marked reluctance to use freefacilities even among the poorest sections in Indian society.For example, a study of health and health care among scheduledcastes showed that 38% sought private . . . [Full text of this article]