This study provides baseline information and analysis that the Ministry of Health in Tanzania can use to further elaborate policies to enhance public-private partnerships in the health sector in order to expand coverage, strengthen quality and efficiency of health services, and improve the health status of the population. Tanzania has at times deliberately restricted private sector activity in health, and at other times has encouraged and supported growth of certain types of private sector providers. Since the early 1990s the government has made private sector development a cornerstone of its health sector reforms.
Prepared for the Health and Human Resources Analysis for Africa (HHRAA) project of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the study has three main components:
> a description of the size and scope of the private sector in health care delivery in Tanzania and an assessment of the actual and potential role of the private sector in promoting the public health agenda;
> a description of the current linkages between the public and private sectors in health care and an examination of areas where collaboration could potentially improve health services delivery; and
> an examination of the factors that affect development of the private sector in Tanzania, especially legal, regulatory, tax, and financial matters.