Private Sector Counts

Explore the role of public and private sources of care

About this Tool

Private Sector Counts provides information on sources for family planning services and sick child care, which is critical for successful program implementation.

As users of the tool will find, both the public and private sectors are important sources for family planning and sick child care. Use of public and private sources vary considerably by country and demographic characteristics, such as socioeconomic status, and urban/rural residence.

Why the private sector

We call this tool “Private Sector Counts” to remind donors and program implementers that the private sector, in addition to the public sector, has a key role to play in providing family planning and sick child care. With easy-to-access data on where clients access family planning products and sick child care, implementers can use a total market approach to design programs that increase access to quality services throughout the health system.

Using Private Sector Counts

Private Sector Counts is divided into two content areas: child health and family planning.

The Child Health Data provide information on:

  • Illness burden: What percentage of children under five experienced diarrhea, acute respiratory infection symptoms, and/or fever in the previous two weeks?
  • Care-seeking level: What percentage of caregivers seek advice or treatment outside the home?
  • Care-seeking source: What sources do care seekers use for advice or treatment?

The Family Planning Data provide information on:

  • Method mix:
    • Which modern methods of contraception do women use?
    • What percentage of women rely on short-acting methods versus long-acting and permanent methods?
  • Family planning source:
    • What share of women rely on public, private, or other sources for modern contraception?
    • What share of modern contraceptive users rely on public, private, or other sources?
    • Where do private sector contraceptive users obtain their method?

Use the navigation menu on the right side of each graph to disaggregate family planning data by:

  • Country
  • Method
  • Time (Newest versus older survey)
  • Socioeconomic status
  • Urban/rural residence
  • Age
  • Marital status

Helpful tips

  • Hover over the data point to see the exact percentage and label.
  • Manipulate the data by country, illness (child health only), method (family planning only), or demographic characteristics by using the navigation menu on the right side of the screen.
  • View child health graphs in different formats (e.g., bar graph, map, bubble graph) by selecting the option at the bottom of the right-hand navigation menu.
  • Use the download icon at the bottom of each visualization to download a PDF of the visualization or an Excel file of the raw data. Highlight the full graph before downloading as an Excel file.

    • If you have questions about Private Sector Counts, email info@shopsplusproject.org.

SHOPS Plus Project

Sustaining Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) Plus project is USAID's flagship initiative in private sector health. The project seeks to harness the full potential of the private sector and catalyze public-private engagement to improve health outcomes in family planning, HIV, and maternal and child health. By increasing the participation and effectiveness of the private health sector, SHOPS Plus improves the equity and quality of the total health system.

Click here to learn more about the project.

This tool was originally developed by USAID’s Strengthening Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) project.

Recommended citation: Private Sector Counts, SHOPS Plus Project funded by USAID, led by Abt Associates.