Improving Access to Sterilization Services through Public Private Partnership: Cases from Rajasthan

Introduction: Under the National Rural Health Mission, the government has promoted several Public Private Partnership schemes to extend health services to the rural populations; sterilization is one such service. Rajasthan, one of its high focus districts, has adopted the scheme. Objective: Examine the capacity and perception of the private providers to reduce barriers to accessing sterilization services in Rajasthan. Methodology: Case study design is adopted in the study with purposively selected private providers from two districts of Rajasthan. Results: There is diversity in the capacity of different providers, in the scheme, to deliver accessible services. Besides, their perceptions about barriers to access also vary. Discussion: Three broad phenomena emerge: first, the role of the private sector in bridging the barriers to access is limited; second, their role is shaped by their perceptions about barriers to access; and third, the emphasis of the scheme is more towards the promotion of private facilities than ensuring access.