Independent research & practical ideas for global prosperity

April Harding

Visiting Fellow

Education: Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania; B.A. University of Kentucky

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Media Contact: Ben Edwards

April Harding is an economist and health systems specialist who joined CGD from the Human Development department in the Latin America and Caribbean region of the World Bank. For the past 8 years she's been leading the Bank's work related to public policy toward the private health sector. April also has worked a great deal on hospital reform and governance of health services in developing and transition countries. Before she shifted her focus to health systems, April worked for 7 years on private sector development and privatization in transition economies. This work included advice and technical assistance to governments in more than 13 countries, including advising the Polish and Russian governments on privatization in the early 1990s. Prior to her work at the World Bank, April was a Research Fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution. During her time at CGD, April will be writing a book on how policy toward the private health sector can be improved to enhance the private sector contribution to public policy goals.

Newest Popular CGD Publications Events Multimedia Selected Works

The Private Sector And Global Health: Interview with April Harding (Video) - Mar 17, 2010

In this video, CGD visiting fellow April Harding describes the private sector's success in supporting health initiatives in developing countries. Harding provides an example of maternal care in India where government vouchers for private doctors provided the additional human resources to lower rates of maternal mortality. Harding lead a CGD working group to identify how the private sector could support the health goals of the public sector. The working group recommended that donors create a private sector advisory facility that would provide on-demand support to policymakers in developing countries. So far, five donors have agreed to support this facility.
Partnerships with the Private Sector in Health - Dec 4, 2009

The Private Sector Advisory Facility Working Group recommends a practical way for donors and technical agencies to support successful public-private interactions to strenghthen health systems in developing countries.

Partnerships with the Private Sector in Health - Dec 4, 2009

The Private Sector Advisory Facility Working Group recommends a practical way for donors and technical agencies to support successful public-private interactions to strenghthen health systems in developing countries.
The Private Sector And Global Health: Interview with April Harding (Video) - Mar 17, 2010

In this video, CGD visiting fellow April Harding describes the private sector's success in supporting health initiatives in developing countries. Harding provides an example of maternal care in India where government vouchers for private doctors provided the additional human resources to lower rates of maternal mortality. Harding lead a CGD working group to identify how the private sector could support the health goals of the public sector. The working group recommended that donors create a private sector advisory facility that would provide on-demand support to policymakers in developing countries. So far, five donors have agreed to support this facility.

Partnerships with the Private Sector in Health - Dec 4, 2009
The Private Sector Advisory Facility Working Group recommends a practical way for donors and technical agencies to support successful public-private interactions to strenghthen health systems in developing countries.

HIV/AIDS Programs and the Private Health Sector: What’s happening? And why does it matter? - Jan 28, 2008
Integrating private providers into national disease programs is increasingly seen as critical to extending access-to-care, particularly to poor households which paradoxically are often among those most likely to pay for private services. A number of global programs, notably TB, malaria, and reproductive health, have made considerable progress in engaging private providers in both prevention and treatment activities. Private TB care is supported through public-private mix (PPM-DOTS) initiatives in all high-burden countries. Subsidized private distribution of malaria nets and medicines, of family planning commodities and services, and of clean water and vitamins are all accepted as effective and desirable by both donors and low-income governments and are common around the world. This type of engagement is less common in donor-supported HIV/AIDS programs. This talk will focus on the possible reasons for why this is so, and why a few countries are exceptions and continue support for private ART as a component of their national AIDS programs. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing for sustainability of programs, for access to care, and for social justice and cost-effectiveness will be discussed.
- HIV/AIDS

The Private Sector And Global Health: Interview with April Harding (Video) - Mar 17, 2010
In this video, CGD visiting fellow April Harding describes the private sector's success in supporting health initiatives in developing countries. Harding provides an example of maternal care in India where government vouchers for private doctors provided the additional human resources to lower rates of maternal mortality. Harding lead a CGD working group to identify how the private sector could support the health goals of the public sector. The working group recommended that donors create a private sector advisory facility that would provide on-demand support to policymakers in developing countries. So far, five donors have agreed to support this facility.

Non-CGD Publications

"Buying Results: A Review of Developing Countries Experience of Contracting for Health Service Delivery" (w/ B Loevinsohn), The Lancet. Vol. 366. August 2005. (pdf)
"Can Developing Countries further Improve Child Health Outcomes without Engaging the Private Sector?"(with H Axelsson and F Bustreo), Bulletin of the World Health Organization. Vol. 81, 2003. (pdf)
Private Participation in Health Services (with AS Preker), World Bank, 2003.
"The Economics of Hospital Reform: From Hierarchical to Market- based Incentives," World Hospitals and Health Services, Vol. 39, 2003.Innovations in Health Service Delivery: The Corporatization of Public Hospitals. (with AS Preker), World Bank, 2003.
"The Introduction of Market Forces in the Public Hospital Sector: From New Public Management to Organizational Reform," (with M Jakab, AS Preker and L Hawkins), HNP Discussion Paper Series. Washington, 2002.
"Linking Organizational Structure to the External Environment: Experiences from Hospital Reform in Transition Economies," In M McKee and J Healy, Hospitals in a Changing Europe. (with M Jakab and AS Preker). Buckingham: Open University Press, 2002. (pdf)
"Hospital Organizational Structure in Transition Economies: Incoherent Internal and External Incentive Environments," Proceedings, International Conference on Systems Science in Health Care. (with M Jakab and AS Preker). 2000.
"Make or Buy Decision in the Production of Health Care Goods and Services: New Insights from Institutional Economics and Organization Theory" Bulletin of the World Health Organization. (with AS Preker and P Travis). Vol. 78, 2000.
"The Economics of Public and Private Roles in Health Care: New Insights from Institutional Economics" (with N Girishankar and AS Preker). Departmental Working Paper #21874. The World Bank, Washington DC. 1999.