Utilization of HIV-related services from the private health sector: A multi-country analysis

Increasing the participation of the private health sector in the AIDS response could help to achieve universal access to comprehensive HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. This realisation notwithstanding, little is known about the extent to which the private health sector is delivering HIV-related services.

This paper, using data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and AIDS Indicator Surveys (AIS) from 12 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean, explores the use of HIV testing and STI care from the private for-profit sector, and its association with household wealth status.

Key findings of this multi-country analysis are:

• 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 the use of the private-for-profit health sector for HIV testing and STI care increases with wealth in some countries, 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.

The authors conclude that as the global AIDS response evolves from emergency relief to sustained country programs, broader consideration of the role of the private for-profit health sector may be warranted.