The Role of the Private Health Sector in Public Health Emergencies: opportunities and challenges

The private health sector is meant to play a complementary role to the public health sector, which provides a significant portion of health care provision in most countries including Ethiopia. The private health sector includes both profit and non-profit entities and their roles extend to all the essential elements of the health care system namely, preventive, curative, human resource, pharmaceuticals, and other areas1. It is not unusual for the private health sector to work hand in hand with the public health sector in various areas, as the private sector is a key constituent in the provision of essential services such as the provision of emergency services. Public private partnership (PPP) is one of the strategic constituents for the Ethiopian ministry of health and has documented successes and best practice