Roundtable discussion: what is the future role of the private sector in health?

Background: The role for the private sector in health remains subject to much debate, especially within the context of achieving universal health coverage.This roundtable discussion offers diverse perspectives from a range of stakeholders--a health funder, a representative from an implementing organization, a national-level policy-maker, and an expert working in a large multi-national company--on what the future may hold for the private sector in health.

Discussion: The first perspective comes from a health funder, who argues that the discussion about the future role of the private sector has been bogged down in language.

Accelerating learning for pro-poor health markets.

Background: Given the rapid evolution of health markets, learning is key to promoting the identification and uptake of health market policies and practices that better serve the needs of the poor. However there are significant challenges to learning about health markets. We discuss the different forms that learning takes, from the development of codified scientific knowledge, through to experience-based learning, all in relationship to health markets.