The URC team, consisting of Development Alternatives Inc.; ECIAfrica; EnCompass LLC; Howard Delafield International; Management Systems International; Pact; and Population Media Center, will work with USAID missions, the Bureau of Global Health, regional bureaus, and host-country institutions to develop private sector strategies to improve access to and quality of private sector health services. In addition to our core team members, we will also draw upon our non-exclusive team members including Harvard School of Public Health and Initiatives, Inc. as well as host-country and regional institutions.

Over the past four decades, the URC team has made strong contributions to the development of the private sector, particularly in developing systems that can improve performance of private health care providers and the quality of services provided. The URC team members have also used strategies to enhance viability and sustainability of private sector providers and service delivery systems. We have also used social marketing principles to expand access to and demand for reproductive health services as well as to effect behavior change among select target populations. URC is a recognized leader in developing systems to enhance compliance with evidence-based guidelines that affect health outcomes.

The URC team will expand access to quality reproductive health/family planning and other health services through the implementation of private sector strategies that ensure deployment of systems to provide high quality care, ensuring availability and accessibility of services and improving compliance with guidelines among providers and adherence among patients with treatment regimens for chronic conditions as well as antiretroviral therapies. The URC team also brings its strengths in behavior change modification, policy development, partnerships with commercial sector and pharmaceutical companies, and developing entrepreneurship skills among private providers.

The URC team will assist USAID and host country institutions in the following: 1) Developing quality improvement systems to ensure compliance and adherence; 2) Mobilizing resources to expand the private and commercial sector to provide new and higher quality services and products; 3) Developing public-private partnerships to ensure availability of high quality services and products (such as prevention of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, and the treatment of tuberculosis and other infectious diseases) and integrated health services (to reduce missed opportunities); and 4) Demand creation for private sector health services and products.

The URC team will use the USAID PSP resources directly and leverage other resources to enhance the capacity of developing country private sector institutions to meet local reproductive and other health needs and public health challenges. Working together with all stakeholders, we will add value to the role the private sector can play in expanding access to health care for all, especially the most vulnerable groups. In addition, we will help design private health care systems that provide the highest levels of quality. The URC team's technical support will result not only in developing and sustaining local capacity but also in the following outcomes: overall increase in contraceptive use; increased market share of private commodities and products in the marketplace; improved capacity of private providers in providing high quality reproductive health as well as VCT, TB, care to PLWHA, etc.

For further information, please contact:

Jack Galloway, PSP Project Director, psp@urc-chs.com
or visit www.urc-chs.com for more information.