Well-managed private clinics in Kenya kept patients during crises, public ones did not

A new study in Kenya shows that private healthcare facilities with better management kept more patients during the COVID-19 pandemic and a health worker strike. This means that how a clinic is run directly affects its ability to handle major disruptions and keep serving people.

For years, development agencies have focused on building more clinics or supplying more drugs. This paper shows that the actual management of a clinic, especially its operations, is a critical factor in whether it can keep functioning when things go wrong. It suggests that simply having facilities isn't enough; they need to be run well to be resilient.