Filling the Gap

Donika Dimovska
Americas Quarterly
Summer 2010

Photo courtesy REINHARD KRAUSE/REUTERS

The World Health Organization (WHO) Constitution defines health as a human right and declares that governments “have a responsibility for the health of their peoples which can be fulfilled only by the provision of adequate health and social measures.” But the gap between rhetoric and reality is large, particularly in developing nations where scarce resources, corruption and poverty complicate the ability of government-run systems to deliver equitable health care.

That gap, however, is increasingly being filled by the private sector.

Over the past decade, a new kind of health intervention that uses market-based principles has emerged across the Americas and beyond to provide more accessible and affordable health services to the poor. While these health market innovations may not solve developing countries’ complex social challenges, they represent stepping stones to more comprehensive health reform—and they merit increased attention by global and national decision makers.

Read the full text of this article at www.AmericasQuarterly.org

Donika Dimovska is a program officer at the Results for Development Institute (R4D) in Washington, DC, and works on the Center for Health Market Innovations (CHMI), www.healthmarketinnovations.org

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