Incentivizing impact - Privately financed public health in rwanda

Abstract

There is effectively universal agreement that clean air and clean water are human rights. Yet there is not universal agreement on effective ways of ensuring these rights. In environmental health interventions addressing water and indoor air quality, multiple determinants contribute to adoption. These may include technology selection, technology distribution and education methods, community engagement with behavior change, and duration and magnitude of implementer engagement. In Rwanda, while the country has the fastest annual reduction in child mortality in the world, the population is still exposed to a disease burden associated with environmental health challenges. Rwanda relies both on direct donor funding and coordination of programs managed by international non-profits and health sector businesses working on these challenges. In this chapter, a program in Rwanda illustrates the potential of public- private partnerships, combined with objective measurement tools and metrics, to deliver a sustained impact in poor households.