Offline: It’s Time to Hold the Private Sector Accountable (The Lancet, 2018)

Reference Summary (Article)

Abstract

This reference summary presents key information from the following article: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)32392-4/fulltext. The source is a Lancet commentary titled “Offline: It’s time to hold the private sector accountable”, authored by Richard Horton and published in 2018. The article critically examines the persistent inequities in women’s, children’s, and adolescents’ health despite overall global progress, highlighting that improvements have been uneven and have masked deep disparities. It underscores alarming statistics, including preventable mortality among children, adolescents, and women, and the widespread lack of access to essential sexual and reproductive health services. The commentary focuses on the growing role of the private sector in global health and identifies a fundamental tension between profit-driven models and the realization of health as a human right. Drawing on findings from the Independent Accountability Panel (IAP), the article calls for stronger regulation, transparency, and independent oversight of private sector engagement, emphasizing that accountability must ensure alignment with the primary goal of improving population health. The analysis reinforces the broader accountability principles advanced by the United Nations Secretary-General’s Independent Accountability Panel for Every Woman, Every Child, Every Adolescent (IAP: Nicholas Kojo Alipui, Dame Carol Kidu, Brenda Killen, Elizabeth Mason, Giorgi Pkhakadze, Jovana Ríos Cisnero, Gita Sen, Alicia Ely Yamin, Kul Chandra Gautam, and Joy Phumaphi), highlighting the need for rigorous, independent, and sometimes uncomfortable scrutiny of both private sector actors and governments to accelerate equitable health progress.