This paper analyses the prospects of a PPP in the health sector of developing countries. PPP is
defined as institutional relationships between the state and the private for-profit and/or the
private not for-profit sector, where the different public and private actors jointly participate in
defining the objectives, the methods and the implementation of an agreement of cooperation.
Whereas the idea of a PPP in general and in the health sector specifically is theoretically
appealing, the review of case studies has shown that the implementation is still not very
common in developing countries. The selected case studies on public-private-partnerships in
the health sector, however, indicate the potential positive effects. Through increasing
competition, delegation of power to the local level, the active participation of the concerned
population and synergetical effects positive impacts on the efficiency, equity and quality of
health care provision can be observed. Former excluded people have now gained the chance
to set up their own systems according to their specific needs and with public support. The
conditions which have been identified on an macro level working in favor of the set up of a
PPP are a political environment supporting the involvement of the private sector, an economic
and financial crisis leading to a pressure for the public sector to think of new ways of service
provision and a legal framework which guarantees a transparent and credible relationship
between the different actors. On the micro level the capacities of the actors, e.g. their personal
interest, skills and organizational and management structure are important.