Private and public initiatives : working together for health and education

This booklet seeks to examine the change in Bank focus on lending towards an approach to economic growth via a human resources development method. The forward cites a need for a better understanding of the importance of and interconnections among two essential prerequesites for development: 1) a thriving, growing economy and public policies that make that possible, and 2) investment in people through education, health and other basic services. In response to this combination the Bank is giving high priority to helping countries respond to the challenges and opportunities before them by lending for education, health, nutrition and other aspects of human capital development. As part of these efforts, the Bank assists countries to arrive at whatever form of public/private mix is best for their particular circumstances. This booklet decribes that work with two main purposes. The first is to help redress an information gap. Many decision makers and others involved in choices about public/private roles have limited information on, or experience with, the diversity and subtleties of issues and possible solutions on what private entities can and do contribute in the health and education fields. The public side they may know well, but the private possibilities much less so. The examples presented here of different approaches from different countries and situations are meant to help correct that informational imbalance. The second purpose is to bring together recent instances of the Bank's support for health and education initiatives involving the private sector, including some where non-governmental organizations and community-based groups have played an important role. A cross-section from various regions and subsectors of human development projects, these cases indicate the breadth and new directions of strategies now emerging. Some are still in their early stages, others more advanced.

This booklet seeks to examine the change in Bank focus on lending towards an approach to economic growth via a human resources development method. The forward cites a need for a better understanding of the importance of and interconnections among two essential prerequesites for development: 1) a thriving, growing economy and public policies that make that possible, and 2) investment in people through education, health and other basic services. In response to this combination the Bank is giving high priority to helping countries respond to the challenges and opportunities before them by lending for education, health, nutrition and other aspects of human capital development. As part of these efforts, the Bank assists countries to arrive at whatever form of public/private mix is best for their particular circumstances. This booklet decribes that work with two main purposes. The first is to help redress an information gap. Many decision makers and others involved in choices about public/private roles have limited information on, or experience with, the diversity and subtleties of issues and possible solutions on what private entities can and do contribute in the health and education fields. The public side they may know well, but the private possibilities much less so. The examples presented here of different approaches from different countries and situations are meant to help correct that informational imbalance. The second purpose is to bring together recent instances of the Bank's support for health and education initiatives involving the private sector, including some where non-governmental organizations and community-based groups have played an important role. A cross-section fromvarious regions and subsectors of human development projects, these cases indicate the breadth and new directions of strategies now emerging. Some are still in their early stages, others more advanced.

The World Bank helps countries to arrive at whatever combination of public and private control is best for their particular economic circumstances. This booklet describes that work and summarizes examples of private-sector involvement in health and education provision in the developing world today. The examples also illustrate what the World Bank is doing to help bring those outside government-communities, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), private voluntary organizations, private providers, and corporations--into the design and implementation of social-service projects. Part 1 describes the historical roots of present trends--the development of modern health care systems, mass education systems--and the inequities that currently exist in health and education. The role of the World Bank in eliminating the social deficit and reducing poverty worldwide is described. The World Bank advocates using competitive markets to organize the production and distribution of goods and services and using a market-oriented approach to development. Part 2 offers examples of World Bank assistance in Kenya, Pakistan, Bolivia, India, Columbia, Burkino Faso, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, Estonia, and Brazil. Sixteen boxes, 5 figures, and 2 tables are included. (Contains 63 references.) (LMI) Throughout most of recorded history people have gone to private teachers and private schools to get an education and to private doctors and hospitals when they were ill. Only in the twentieth century have governments - first in Europe and later in other regions of the world - become important providers of social services, in extreme cases excluding the private sector altogether. Today's governments must strive to achieve the most productive balance of the private and public sector in social service provision. Yet all too often the officials who make these decisions are well-informed about public sector options (through innumerable reports, conferences, and their own experience) but know relatively little about what the private sector has to offer. Most are unaware that over the ages and around the world, private providers have developed a rich variety of strategies for delivering education, nutrition, health, and population services