Utilization of HIV-Related Services from the Private Health Sector: A Multi-Country Analysis (English)

Document Type

Working Papers

Publication Topic(s)

HIV

Country(s)

Benin, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guinea, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Vietnam, Guyana, Haiti

Language

English

Author(s)

Wenjuan Wang, Sara Sulzbach and Susna De and ICF Macro, Calverton, Maryland, USA

Publication Date

February 2010

Publication ID

WP67

Abstract:

Increasing the participation of private health providers in the AIDS response will help to achieve the global goal of “universal access to comprehensive HIV prevention, treatment, care and support”. Yet little is known about the extent to which the private health sector is delivering HIV-related services. This study uses data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and AIDS Indicators Surveys (AIS) from 12 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean to explore use of HIV testing and STI care from the private for-profit sector, and its association with household wealth status. The analysis indicates that the private for-profit health sector is active in HIV-related service delivery, although the level of participation varies by region and country. From 3 to 45 percent of women and 6 to 42 percent of men reported the private for-profit sector as their source of the most recent HIV testing. While in some countries use of the private for-profit health sector for HIV testing and STI care increases with wealth, in others the relationship is not clear, as there are no significant differences in using private for-profit HIV-related services between the rich and the poor. As the global AIDS response evolves from emergency relief to sustained country programs, broader consideration of the role of the private health sector may be warranted. Key words: HIV/AIDS, Services utilization, Private health sector, Household wealth