The post-2015 development agenda is focused squarely on sustainability, transitioning from simply achieving specific targets to sustaining progress and impact in health and development.
Two key elements in attaining sustainability include reducing donor dependency and increasing country ownership. By looking beyond traditional sources, public sector leaders are increasingly able to diversify health funding, reducing reliance on any one donor or investor. Many private sector actors recognize engagement with the public sector has business value and promotes social benefits. Improving population health can have further positive effects for employees and consumers: A healthier population generally has stronger purchasing power.
Public-private partnerships have been lauded as a way to increase country ownership, as well as diversify funding sources for health programming. However, mobilizing private sector investment for public programs is not easy. The private sector and public sector often operate in distinct ecosystems and have different characteristics; alignment of their varied objectives is challenging. Key differences include: