Integrating Private Providers in Côte d'Ivoire’s National HIV Response
Côte d'Ivoire contends with one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in West Africa. The private sector represents half of all health facilities in the country. However, research conducted by Abt Associates for the Strengthening Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) project in 2013 found that low provider knowledge about HIV service delivery, limited availability of products and services, lack of patient knowledge about the private sector’s services, and lack of dialogue between sectors hindered the private sector from fully engaging in the national HIV response.
In response, SHOPS piloted a package of technical support activities in 2014 and 2015 with 15 private clinics in Abidjan that were experiencing legal and regulatory barriers to HIV service provision. SHOPS advocated for regulatory and policy reforms promoting greater private health sector inclusion through national- and district-level public-private platforms. From 2016 through 2019, Abt’s Private Sector Health Project (PSHP) expanded this support to 150 facilities in 20 districts across eight health regions with the highest HIV prevalence.