Abstract
Since 1990 the Tanzanian government has promoted collaborative policy towards the private health sector to scale up access to health care. Contracting is one option available to decentralised health authorities to make the most of public and private health care provision at the district level but so far has been infrequently practiced. Typical barriers to contracting have included poor understanding of contracting mechanisms, mistrust between sectors, and general underfunding in districts.
This health financing case study describes the contracting model that operated between Marie Stopes Tanzania and 13 Local Government Authorities from 2005 to 2011 including two no-cost extensions. The programme, which was predominantly financed by the Canadian International Agency for Development (CIDA), was envisioned with dual objectives: first, to increase access to comprehensive maternal, newborn, child and HIV/AIDS services in remote areas; and second, to design and implement a public-private partnership model of cooperation between a non-state health provider and decentralized Local Government Authorities. Marie Stopes International and Local Government Authorities also contributed financial and technical resources.
