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International Development: Health

Answer

Improving poor people's access to effective health services is a priority for the United Kingdom. A critical aspect of implementing our 2005 and 2006 international development White Paper commitments to expand basic health services involves working with other international development partners, African Governments and civil society to ensure long-term predictable financing for the health sector to improve basic health services and ensure better health for the poor. Our support is instrumental in enabling countries to develop and implement plans for increasing their human resource capacity in health. As part of the Department for International Development's (DfID) response to tackling the health staff crisis, it awarded a five-year grant to the Tropical Health and Education Trust (THET), under its Civil Society Challenge Fund, in 2006 to help expand links between the UK National Health Service and poor countries. It is too soon to assess the impact and success of the THET project; the first annual report is due later this year. In addition, we will consider the report on effectiveness of links or twinning carried out by McKinsey for the Gates Foundation, which will useful in considering our approach to this work. In Somaliland, DfID has been working closely with a consortium of British organisations, which includes THET, to develop a proposal for building human resource for health capacity. The proposal has been finalised, and DfID is now considering providing the necessary financial support to this pilot development scheme, which will also address regulatory issues.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

3161; 691 c268-9WA

Session

2006-07

Related items

Deposited Paper HDEP 2007/470
Thursday, 31 May 2007
Deposited papers
House of Lords

Subjects

Developing countries Development aid Health services

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk