Further advances in knowledge on the role of the private sector in health systems

Nearly 50% of total expenditure on health in lowand middleincome countries is private, rising to 70% in countries such as Pakistan, Liberia, India and Myanmar (World Health Organization 2011). A large proportion of this expenditure goes to private providers of health-related goods and services. Awareness of this, the scale and complexity of private health service provision and the magnitude of the regulatory challenges it presents, has been growing for a decade. As a response to the need for improved understanding of the role of the private sector in health systems, interested experts in health and economics have been working together in an informal consortium since 2008 to create a platform for continued growth of the knowledge on this subject. The consortium includes academic institutions and organizations with engagement in health advancement in lowand middle-income countries. Since 2009, the consortium has arranged a symposium every second year before the World Congress of the International Health Economics Association. The symposia are envisaged as a dialogue between researchers, international organizations and policy makers with a goal of moving forward the discussion on the role of the private sector in health systems in lowand middle-income countries. For all sessions, authors are encouraged to consider the relevance and implications of their findings as they apply to health systems in lowand middle-income countries. Selected papers from the first symposium in this series were published in a supplement to Health Policy and Planning in 2011 (Health Policy Plan 2011). This new supplement to Health Policy and Planning is an outcome of the Second Symposium on the Role of the Private Sector in Health Systems held in Toronto on 9 July 2011. The symposium invited researchers and policy makers around the world to participate with presentations on five themes central to the scientific development of understanding on the role of the private sector in health systems.