Policy incentives refer to any course of action that facilitates private sector participation in providing family planning (FP)/reproductive health (RH) services. Such incentives may include tax breaks for private sector organizations that provide FP/RH services for individuals who contribute to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) or mission hospitals providing FP/RH, tariff relief, and public vouchers.

Data Requirements:

Evidence of policies developed that provide incentives

Data Sources:

Actual policy documents with evidence of government approval, or submission for approval.

Indicator Type:

Yes/No

Purpose:

Governments can hinder private sector participation through several policy barriers. On the other hand, governments cannot mandate private providers to offer FP/RH services. The purpose of this indicator is to measure if governments facilitate the private sector’s involvement in providing RH services.

Issues:

Evaluators have limited experience in applying this indicator in low- and middle-income countries. There are examples of policies incentivizing the private sector’s delivery of FP/RH services. For instance, tariff relief that exempts contraceptives from import duties is the most widely practiced policy incentive to private sector service delivery. In South Korea, the FP program at one time provided vouchers to reimburse private sector physicians for performing voluntary sterilizations and IUD insertions. Indonesia tested a similar voucher system with private midwives, and Nicaragua has tested special vouchers for sex workers. The tax codes in some countries offer deductions for charitable contributions to NGOs. However, this indicator only generates evidence of a policy incentive and not if the incentive worked. More examples and data are needed to determine if a particular policy incentive stimulated or increased private sector financing for the delivery of FP/RH services.