Who are 'informal health providers' and what do they do? : perspectives from medical anthropology

This paper explores gaps and limitations in the conceptualisation, methodology and policy implications of debates about informal health care providers by examining a cross section of empirical studies. Drawing on a tradition of critical medical anthropology, we argue that existing debates hinge on a particular understanding of what constitutes appropriate knowledge and on particular expectations of how economic actors in the medical marketplace will behave. Keywords: informal providers; markets; medicine vendors; access; quality; expertise.