Action for Global Health
Action for Global Health was formed by 15 non-governmental organisations based in Spain, Italy, France, Germany, the UK and Brussels. The overarching goal of Action for Global Health is increased support from Europe to enable developing countries to make substantial progress towards the health Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
There are three strategic goals:
1. Increased commitment and action from European governments - primarily the EU institutions, France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom and Spain - to support the achievement of the Health MDGs in low and middle-income countries; including higher and better-focused financial contributions to health and health-system strengthening.
2. Increased capacity, engagement and effectiveness of European NGOs' advocacy in support of the Health MDGs, with improved policy analysis and networking with the NGO and development policy community (recognising the role of health as a key lever of development).
3. Increased support from European civil society and the private sector for the achievement of the Health MDGs in low and middle-income countries, including a higher profile for global health in European media.
What's New?
On the occasion of the World Health Day, over fifty people, representing civil society, academia and other organisations, attended the launch of the third UK Action for Global Health Policy Report entitled ‘Health in Crisis' - Why, in a time of economic crisis, Europe must do more than ever to achieve the health MDGs. It examines Europe's role in meeting their commitments made last year in Accra, New York and Doha looking particuarly at the opportunity of the current economic context to do things differently. The launch, in collaboration with London School of Economics Health Department, was chaired by Alvaro Bermejo, Executive Director of International HIV/AIDS Alliance, one of the 3 partners of the AfGH in the UK, and had presentations from Jenny Borden, Chief-Executive, Interact Worldwide, Alistair McGuire, Professor of Health Economics, LSE, Peter Colenso, Head of Human Development, DFID, and Rotimi Sankore, Coordinator of the 15% Campaign, Africa Public Health Alliance, Nigeria. The panel presentations were followed by lively discussion on topics ranging from IMF conditionality to health worker migration and population growth.
UK Policy Conference: ‘From Accra to Doha'
Action for Global Health UK partners held their second annual policy conference, ‘From Accra to Doha: What is the health sector doing to provide more and better aid' at the Royal Society, London (26 January 2009). Attended by around 90 representatives from leading health agencies, civil society and academia, the conference. Speakers included representatives from OECD-DAC, World Bank, GAVI, Amref UK, the Global Fund and DFID. The morning focussed on issues of aid effectiveness, and the particular importance of demonstrating impact and value for money during the current economic downturn. The afternoon looked at health financing gaps, and particularly the role innovative financing can play. Speakers warned that the next two to three years would be decisive for the MDGs; and without sufficient progress, the goals would cease to be the central poverty reduction framework they are today. Now is not a time for business as usual.
A conference report with full recommendations and summaries of the policy discussions will be published at http://www.actionforglobalhealth.eu/.
Press Release Sept 8th 2008 - Governments and donors met in Accra, Ghana last week at the High Level Forum to discuss how aid could be made more effective. Click here to read Action For Global Health's press release on the outcomes of the Forum
Press Release June 18th 2008 - Action for Global Health launch their new report - Health Aid: Why Europe Must Deliver More Aid, Better Spent to Save the Health MDGs.
The report highlights concerns that Europe is not doing enough to ensure that health and development aid is delivered in ways that will support developing countries to acheive the health Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. The report looks at both the amount of aid allocated to health and at how this aid is delivered to assess its real impact on the health of people living in the devloping world.
Key findings in the report include;
• A decline in European Union (EU) financing for general health**
• More donor rhetoric than action
• A lack of engagement with civil society
• A widening gap in addressing gender inequity.
The report is based on evidence from case studies conducted in six developing countries on how aid for health is delivered, and makes recommendations on how the UK Government and the European Commission can improve mechanisms to ensure progress in achieving global health goals, particularly maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria.
Whilst acknowledging that some progress has been made in improving donor coordination, the new report highlights continued concerns over donor fragmentation and action.
"AfGH welcomes the increased focus donors have made in the past year on achieving the health MDGs with the launch of a series of new initiatives aimed at improving the effective delivery of health aid. But we are concerned that these initiatives are resulting in increased fragmentation and competition amongst donors and are little more than rhetoric", says Elaine Ireland of the International Aids Alliance, a member of AfGH. "We are therefore calling on donors to set aside their domestic political interests and move from rhetoric to action and genuinely harmonise their aid and reduce the burden on recipient governments".
Recommendations in the new report reiterate the need for continued pressure on donor and developing country governments to improve the way they deliver their aid "This report makes an important contribution to assessing the challenges facing donor countries in delivering aid through effective mechanisms. It recognizes the balance to be stuck between greater coordination and over-complexity, and charts a way ahead, "says TB Alert's Chief Executive Mike Mandelbaum.
The Healthy Aid report also stresses the role of civil society in supporting the delivery of services, and in holding their governments to account for results. It highlights concerns that new mechanisms for delivering aid make it harder to track where the money goes, how long it takes to reach local communities and its impact in developing countries.
"Achieving the MDGs does not only come from more funding for health, it also requires better delivery of aid. Improved aid effectiveness needs to start with better coordination between governments but also requires a much greater involvement of civil society in developing countries, and especially of women, without whose full and equal participation the effectiveness of any health system is fatally compromised", says Bruno Oudmayer CEO of Interact Worldwide, a member of AfGH.
"It is of critical importance to make progress on all these fronts, and not just focus on one of them."
The experience of Zambia outlined in the report reinforces that harmonisation in practice seems to be a process between government and donor, with few opportunities for civil society engagement. "Finance to support the essential role civil society organisations play both in delivering services and holding governments to account for the way donor aid is spent are dwindling in many African countries", according to Christopher Chabu Kangale from Alliance Zambia. "This is a far cry from the notion of country ownership, envisioned by many working in the health sector."
For more information, photos or interviews contact:
Cathy Bartley Tel: +44 (0) 208 694 9138 or +44 (0) 7958 561671
Cathy.bartley@bartley-robbs.co.uk
Elaine Ireland Tel: + 44 (0) 7817 96919
Eireland@aidsalliance.org
To find out more about Action for Global Health please visit our website.