Public-private partnerships to reduce maternal mortality: silver bullet or smoking gun?

Paul McNamee, University of Aberdeen
Akash Acharya, Centre for Social Studies (CSS)

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) have been introduced in many countries to improve outcomes and reduce inequalities in maternal health. Some PPPs focus on poorer members of the population and make care free at the point of use, funded by the community through social insurance or general taxation. Free care should empower poorer communities, by reducing financial barriers and allowing greater freedom of choice over where to seek care. However, the success of PPPs depends on the response of private providers, whether private provision is in fact superior to publicly provision care and care at home in terms of quality of care and health outcomes, and whether such schemes are effective in reducing all financial barriers for poor households. In this presentation we address these issues with reference to the Chiranjeevi Yojana policy that was introduced in Gujarat State, India, to reduce financial barriers and thereby reduce the number of maternal deaths.