Provider Purchasing and Contracting for Health Services_The Case

Table 7: Distribution of beds by province
Province
Population
(millions)
MoH Centers MoH Hospitals All Facilities
(Public and Private)
Beds and
Cots,
Total
Beds and
Cots per
1,000
Beds and
Cots,
Total
Beds and
Cots per
1,000
Beds and
Cots,
Total
Beds and
Cots per
1,000
Central 1.05 526 0.50 1,166 1.11 1,995 1.90
Copperbelt 1.92 489 0.26 3,521 1.84 5,825 3.04
Eastern 1.38 844 0.61 1,206 0.88 2,791 2.03
Luapula 0.755 676 0.90 945 1.25 1,978 2.62
Lusaka 1.64 436 0.27 2,263 1.38 2,762 1.68
Northern 1.27 1,150 0.91 1,393 1.10 3,180 2.51
North- 0.67 772 1.15 830 1.23 2,722 4.04
Western
Southern 1.3 661 0.49 1,465 1.09 3,213 2.40
Western 0.81 485 0.60 846 1.04 1,852 2.29
Total 10.8 6,039 0.56 13,635 1.26 26,318 2.43
Source: MoH and CBoH, 2002, MoH = Ministry of Health.
In 2002, the number of private beds was mainly concentrated in the Copperbelt and North-
Western Provinces with 2,085 and 1,120 beds, respectively. The relatively large bed capacity
observed in the North-Western Provincecan be attributed to the concentration of mission
hospitals in the region.
5. Profile of the Private Sector in Zambia
The private health sector in Zambia comprises private not-for-profit mission hospitals and
health centers and private for-profit health care providers.
Private for-profit providers
The private for-profit health sector in Zambia is an important source of primary health
services for many people including the poor. Its role has become very significant since the
government liberalized the health sector in 1992. Despite the country’s long history of
reforms, the role of the private for-profit providers has largely been disregarded by the
government. 4
Composition and distribution
The private for-profit sector comprises formally registered private for-profit hospitals and
clinics, pharmacies, and drug stores. In addition, there is a largely informal subsector of not
fully qualified providers such as traditional healers, traditional birth attendants, herbalists,
4 The 2008 Ministry of Health census of health facilities does not comprehensively capture and include the
private sector, although it formally registers these facilities through the Medical Council of Zambia.
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