The challenges of providing essential services to marginalized populations is not, of course, unique to the health care sector. Nevertheless, provision of health care to the poorest and most marginalized around the world has historically been one of the social sectors attracting the least private sector investment.

Impact bonds have done a better job of incorporating features of results-based grant funding, public private partnerships and blended finance approaches, and have been able to attract private sector impact investors to fund social and development programs, including in the health care sector.

This paper examines different structures of social and development impact bond investment. The discussion includes carefully chosen case studies and highlights the advantages and risks inherent in each structure.  This is followed by a comprehensive list of lessons learned and recommendations for attracting institutional investors and scaling up private sector investment in the funding of health services in developing countries. 

Innovative Finance in Health Care: Scaling up the use of Impact Bonds, Gavi Alliance

Innovative Finance in Health Care: Scaling Up Use of Impact Bonds in Public Health Care in Developing Countries

Patricia O. Sulser, Jelena Madir