IHP

Welcome to the latest e-newsletter from the Taskforce on Innovative International Financing for Health Systems, chaired by UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and World Bank President Robert Zoellick. The Taskforce is focused on ways in which innovative financing mechanisms can be used to strengthen health systems in the poorest countries in the world. Please feel free to forward this newsletter to friends and colleagues. For more detailed information please visit: www.internationalhealthpartnership.net/taskforce.html

Chairman Gordon Brown with members of the Taskforce

Chairman Gordon Brown met with members of the Taskforce on 13 March at Downing Street to discuss Working Group recommendations.

Civil Society consultation – Johannesburg, 13th and 14th May 2009

Following the first Civil Society consultation which was held in London on the 5th March 2009, and attended by fifty civil society representatives from across the globe, a second event is being organised in Johannesburg on 13th and 14th May 2009.

The Civil Society consultation in South Africa is an opportunity for Southern based civil society representatives to discuss health financing with the Taskforce. The purpose of the meeting is to engage civil society in the analysis of a) funding gaps and constraints to scaling up support for health systems; and b) potential innovative funding mechanisms and the effective use of aid.

The forum will provide an opportunity to improve communication and information dissemination between civil society and the Taskforce. The Taskforce recognises the diversity of civil society in the health and finance sectors and values the diverse experiential and technical knowledge that they can provide. For more information please visit: www.internationalhealthpartnership.net/taskforce.html

Civil Society representatives from across the globe shared their views on the Taskforce at the consultation on 5 March in London

Solidarity in times of crisis:
can innovative financing help?

World leaders called for an additional US$30 billion to save 10 million lives – 3 million mothers and 7 million children
Stronger health systems critical to saving these lives require resources from the international community. For this reason the Taskforce was established.
Halfway to 2015, numerous countries are lagging behind in reaching the health Millennium Development Goals
Developing countries will undoubtedly be hit hardest by the current financial crisis
Need to prevent financial crisis from becoming a human crisis

The financial crisis and economic downturn come at a precarious time for global health. The international community is in the midst of the most ambitious drive in history to alleviate poverty and reduce the great gaps in health outcomes. No one wants this momentum to stall, but what will happen if the enormous financial bail-outs deplete the money that is available for health and development?

The answer is that everyone stands to lose, but during this time of financial constraint it is appropriate to remind ourselves that the poorest people including women and children will lose the most.

Even if existing donors and recipient governments meet all their commitments, additional resources will be needed to make a lasting difference to the health of women and children worldwide. It is therefore time to seek innovative financing solutions - new ways of complementing traditional forms of aid.

We know what is needed to build strong health systems - trained staff; adequate supplies of medicines and equipment; decent facilities; and a system of paying for care which is fair and which protects people from impoverishment when they fall sick. And this costs money.

Funding for global health has more than doubled since 2000 - saving millions of lives. Many low income countries - particularly in Africa - have also increased health spending on the back of economic growth. New AIDS infections are falling and progress is being made in combating malaria and TB. Vaccines are reaching more children than ever before. Under-five mortality dropped below 10 million per year in 2006.

We have to urge governments worldwide to keep their promises - particularly in the rich world. In past recessions, aid - including aid for health - has been cut precisely at the time when it is needed most. Several low-income governments have now committed to doing what they can to maintain levels of spending on health in the face of this crisis. We must urge the others to follow suit.

With 100 million of the world’s most vulnerable people now pushed back into poverty as a result of the food crisis that preceded the economic downturn, it is now vital that, rather than turning off the aid tap, we look for the means to increase its flow.

Global Action to Strengthen
Health Systems

The International Health Partnership (IHP+) was launched in September 2007 in response to the challenges of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that called for all signatories to accelerate action to scale-up coverage and use of health services, and deliver improved outcomes against the health- related MDGs commitments.

The IHP+ seeks to achieve better health results by mobilizing donor countries, other development partners and international health agencies around a single country-led national health strategy, guided by the principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness to reach the health MDGs. As of April 2009 the IHP+ has thirty-five signatories.

Mali is the fourth country to sign an IHP+ Country Compact. The Compact is an understanding between the Government of a developing country and its Development Partners, and provides a framework for increased and effective aid.

'The compact will strengthen the dialogue and cooperation among partners. It will also help to increase the funding predictability and the mutual accountability' said Mali's Minister of Health Dr. Oumar Ibrahima Toure speaking at the signing ceremony

For more information please contact:
Colleen Harris, Communication Adviser to the Taskforce
Colleen@harrisprivate.com

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