PRIVATIZATION AND PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

Pakistan has a mixed health system of public and private sectors that are unregulated and without formal evaluation and studies. There is lack of sources for reliable data on health systems. Private sector ranges from small clinics and pharmacies to large tertiary hospitals and foundations. In the last 25 years, public-private partnerships have increased, leading to large scale evaluations by international organization. These partnerships are essentially taking place in primary health care services with negligible public-private partnership in secondary and tertiary organizations. Private and Public sectors are operating in a detached manner with no governmental specific regulatory framework for private sectors. This paper focuses on the private sector and public-private partnership in the country. Various reasons for privatization are discussed along with positive lessons and outcomes that can be derived from public-private partnerships in the country.