| Ghana is moving towards privatization of veterinary services, while Jamaica privatized clinical services in 1992. The major objective of the study was to identify factors determining uptake of privatization among veterinarians.;The methodology involved administration of questionnaires to eligible veterinarians in Ghana (n = 164; response rate 74%) and Jamaica (n = 45; response rate 78%). Data on AHSD systems (livestock population, personnel, financing, organization and operations of veterinary departments from 1986-96) were analyzed for trends. Macro-economic and socio-cultural factors impacting uptake of privatization were assessed.;Generally, no significant differences were found in perceptions of Ghanaian and Jamaican veterinarians on service delivery, determinants of successful private practices and privatization issues, despite the preponderance of private and public delivery systems in Jamaica and Ghana respectively. In Ghana, among government veterinarians, a significant proportion (61%) were unwilling to go into private practice. Among the reasons given were unwillingness or inability of farmers to pay for services, high interest rates on loans, low societal values for animals discouraging veterinary care, prohibitively high operating costs, and low livestock densities in many areas. High interest and inflation rates were perceived in both countries as detrimental to private practice start-up. In both countries, the major perceived reason for privatization was decline in government funding. A significant proportion of Jamaican respondents, compared to those in Ghana, perceived privatization as improving service delivery. AHSD was inadequately financed in both countries, as defined by measures such as R-ratio, coefficient of efficacy, salaries:non-staff expenditure ratios, recurrent expenditure per VLU, and non-staff expenditure per VLU. Specific legislation on private practice was either absent or not enforced. There were no clearly defined national surveillance systems.;There was not enough evidence for the short term impact of privatization on animal health in Jamaica from inspection of limited data on indices such as amount of meat condemned at slaughter, numbers of animals slaughtered and disease incidence and outbreaks.;In conclusion, certain major obstacles to the uptake of privatization among veterinarians in Ghana were identified. Lessons from Jamaica indicate that factors such as attractive start-up incentives and long sensitization period of public for service payment, may enhance uptake of privatization. |
