Beyond the Market: A Public-Private Partnership Model for Folic Acid Promotion and Its Lessons for China

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-602-9_6How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Folic acid; Neural tube defects (NTDs); Public-private partnership (PPP)

Abstract

Periconceptional folic acid supplementation has been demonstrated as an effective intervention for preventing neural tube defects (NTDs). China has achieved notable success in this regard, primarily through the implementation of a distinctive tablet supplementation approach. This study examines the unique public-private partnership (PPP) model underpinning this achievement, the SCRIANEN folic acid tablets case. This paper employs a mixed-methods analysis, integrating policy evaluation, historical data, and economic modelling, to investigate the role of the “Government Authorization-Enterprise Execution” framework in facilitating rapid nationwide coverage. The theoretical model developed herein demonstrates that the provision of temporary monopoly rights to a single enterprise constitutes an economically efficient solution to the problem of free-riding in the context of initial market creation. The analysis indicates that this approach facilitated rapid scaling, while concomitantly exposing limitations in equity and system resilience. These findings offer valuable insights for health governance in developing countries, demonstrating the potential of strategically designed PPPs to accelerate public health interventions, and emphasizing the necessity of transitioning towards equity-oriented policies for sustainable impact.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Naiyuan Liang
AU  - Hong Feng
AU  - Cheng Huang
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/03/13
TI  - Beyond the Market: A Public-Private Partnership Model for Folic Acid Promotion and Its Lessons for China
BT  - Proceedings of the 2025 7th International Conference on Economic Management and Model Engineering (ICEMME 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 48
EP  - 59
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-602-9_6
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-602-9_6
ID  - Liang2026
ER  -