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International Health Partnership

For the reasons that I have explained, it is difficult to give an exact answer. Every country is different. Let me give another example to illustrate that. In Kenya, where there is a particular situation at present, the Government and the partners have agreed that there should not be a separate IHP document, because as I mentioned, the IHP is not about creating new bureaucracies, but about delivery. If a compact is needed, we should have that. In Kenya, the country compact will instead be the action plan, which is following a mid-term review of Kenya's health sector. The best thing that I can say to hon. Members is, ““Don't judge the IHP by the number of compacts. Judge it by the results—by delivery,”” because that is what I am committed to. Rightly, a question was raised about what communication we have with other agencies and partners. I can assure hon. Members that there is regular and meaningful dialogue. The UK has been invited to speak at the second meeting of the H8—the eight agencies—and we regularly have contact with the heads of agencies such as the World Bank, UNICEF and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. We continue to press the heads of those agencies to deliver on the commitments to which they have signed up. That includes aligning funding with the plans of the particular Government and co-ordinating funding around those plans. Again, there is no point in having the discussion without ensuring that action follows. That is a constant theme in all our discussions. An allied question is what we are doing to encourage funding from others. We are in close contact with other donors and particularly the WHO and the World Bank, which have received additional funds—for example, from Norway. We will continue our work through both the G8 and the EU to encourage further support. We have had discussion about UK medical staff and I pay tribute to the staff who have given their expertise, time and skills to supporting developing countries. That is very important work. However, in the long term, the real key to all this is not just to strengthen health care systems, but to ensure that health care professionals are in such countries in sufficient numbers and with sufficient skills, and can reach the right people. That is our main focus, and we will continue to strengthen the in-country health work forces as the long-term commitment that we can make. Questions were raised about malaria and polio. On malaria, I reiterate that the Government have committed £1 billion up to 2015 to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. I am sure that hon. Members are aware of our Prime Minister's absolute commitment to the fight against malaria. We will make a further concerted effort in that regard this year. In Kenya, for example, we are supporting the WHO and NGOs in respect of treated mosquito nets. That has led to a 50 per cent. cut in malaria deaths. As part of our commitment, I am particularly keen that we talk not just about numbers of bed nets but about their usage. In the end, what is important is not just the delivery of a bed net but the fact that it is used. We have already provided £350 million to tackle polio—we are the second largest bilateral donor. As a result of that and of success in working with our partners, the number of cases has dropped from 350,000 in 1988 to some 2,000 last year. We are keen for other donors to play their part in that. The hon. Member for Cotswold (Mr. Clifton-Brown) raised a very important point about accountability of funds—how they are used and where they get to. As we know, the IHP is about maximising the impact of existing aid. Depending on the country and what is happening there, we ensure that our aid reaches the people of those countries through the most effective means possible. In many cases, that is through NGOs. It may be through world institutions such as the World Bank and the United Nations. It is about working with organisations such as Oxfam and Save the Children as appropriate, or with the Governments, depending on the situation. However, measuring the impact of the IHP is crucial. We have had discussion about that, and the members of the IHP have agreed a single way of doing it. I am referring to focusing on the changes that it will make to people's lives—for example, measuring the number of people attending clinics, the number of children receiving immunisations and the number of mothers giving birth in a clinic. All those are direct measures of where money is being used. I can assure hon. Members that we have robust systems in place to assess public financial management systems of the countries in which we work. We will, and do, investigate any cases in respect of which there is any concern. If any hon. Members wish to draw cases to my attention, I will be glad to follow that through. Aid effectiveness is what this is all about. The EU and our work with EU colleagues were mentioned. Just last week, officials met EU colleagues. We are also active through the G8. Even if some donors do not sign up to the IHP, they are nevertheless committed to the principles of improving the effectiveness of health aid. At the G8 we are already working, and will continue to work, with officials and politically to ensure that we see stronger action on health systems funding and particularly on the health work force. I would like to put it on the record that the UK has been at the forefront of efforts to prevent migration of key health workers from developing countries, which has slowed down. We now have a code of conduct that precludes active recruitment in developing countries, and we have increased training of our own UK doctors and nurses so that we no longer need to recruit so many from abroad. I pay tribute to the staff who work for DFID, many of whom are working in-country. In my role, I am keen to ensure that they feel as much a part of our team as those working in London, because they are our teams in the countries where we are working. We have undergone some reductions in administration costs, as have a number of other Departments. I am sure that hon. Members and our constituents would expect us to do that. It is important to say that our health advisers, for example, are working more strategically. We are liaising and co-ordinating much better and to a greater degree with other countries and other donors at country level, to ensure that we are speaking with one voice in the way that the IHP wants us to do. There is a sharing of expertise.