Report

The Potentialities of the Private Health Sector and its Role in Health Services Provision in the Sudan

“The study focuses mainly on reassessing the potentialities of the private health sector and its role in the health services provision in the Sudan, more specifically the study tries to evaluate the importance of private hospitals in delivering health services, and limitations on publicly provided services, to see also to what extent the technical quality of services provided by the private hospitals, to identify the constraints and difficulties facing private hospitals services. The study adopted the descriptive and the analytical approaches. Both quantitative and qualitative data were used. In addition to the reviewed literature and the statistical records of the Ministry of Health were used to collect the needed secondary data. The primary data were collected using sets of needed questionnaires and interviews. The questionnaire has been conducted with patients in some private hospitals in Khartoum state. While key informants,doctors and medical staff in some private hospitals in Khartoum state were interviewed. The main findings revealed that private health care provision is growing in Sudan, and private hospitals play a significant role in providing health services. The concentration of private hospitals are not balanced. The major strength of private hospitals is: provision of quality services with reliable support staff, comfortable environment for the patients with a good management. The major constraints facing private hospitals are: absence of direct support by the government to this type of investment, weaken regulatory role by MOH, and heavy taxes and fees imposed by the government.”