Scoping review of good practices in private sector engagement for immunization programs in LMICs

A pragmatic scoping review to identify gaps, update and consolidate evidence on promising practices in private sector engagement for vaccination in low- and middle-income countries found over 80 well-documented analyses from 1998 to 2016. The level of private sector engagement was found to be mixed, ranging from 3%–4% to >60% of all childhood vaccinations, and key findings included the following:

• Promising practices for private sector engagement identified included using governance and policy to leverage private providers’ motivations and including them in program efforts.
• Planning and monitoring efforts were effective when linked with regulatory requirements based on national standards for services, reporting and performance monitoring.
• Information systems were effective when they included private sector services in vaccine monitoring and surveillance.
• Challenges identified included ensuring compliance with national schedules and standards and minimizing financial exclusion.
• Few studies documented successful public–private partnership models or other innovative financing models.

Stronger private sector engagement can potentially help reach zero-dose and under-immunized populations in low-resource settings and build resilient systems. Untapped opportunities exist for more structured testing of approaches to inform global guidance. Read the full study in BMJ.

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