Health policy and planning
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Escalating costs and increasing pressure to improve health services have driven a trend toward contracting with the private sector to provide traditionally state-run services. Such contracting is seen as an opportunity to combine theorized advantages of contracting with the efficiency of the private sector. There is still a limited understanding of the preconditions for successful use of contracting and the resources needed for their appropriate use and sustainability. ⋯ The combined score was found to be a much better predictor of outcome scores than a total score used to select NGOs (β = 0.073, P = 0.539). The study provides valuable information from large-scale contracting. Conclusions on criteria for selecting NGOs for providing basic health care could guide other governments choosing to contract for such services.