Read the writing on the wall…
Have you seen the 2014 Millennium Development Goals (MDG) report? When you read it, you will notice how much progress the world has achieved as a whole. That is good. However, it is not good enough. Too many countries have not met the health goals and targets of the MDGs and millions of preventable deaths still take place. Even within countries that have achieved the MDGs, there is inequality and many still do not have access to quality and timely healthcare.
I have been working to achieve the MDGs for the last 11 years. In 2004, I committed to achieving the MDGs because as a health professional, I felt it was irresponsible to know how to save a life and not find a way to be able to do it. I committed to the goals, which meant I have given the health targets of the MDGs all my energy and effort because I wanted to find a way to do my share of saving lives. I looked for a way to save more lives and I found it. It is simple. It is not easy, but it is simple. Here it is: We must commit to a goal, and be accountable for all we do to achieve that goal.
I apologize if you were expecting something more impressive but 11 years of experience comes down to that. I have been in global health for over 25 years and have seen how initiatives and projects get “recycled” and keep doing more of the same. We reinvent a lot in global health. If we were more accountable for what works and what doesn’t, we would not waste time, resources and lives reinventing and recycling projects that do not strengthen a country’s health system and fail to deliver lasting results.
It is time for change. Here is how global health projects must work: A donor commits to improve health care in a country that is currently affected by a number of conditions: malaria, AIDS, high teen pregnancies, high maternal and child mortality, measles, and ebola, among others. Well, first the donor must support the MOH to develop a national health plan that includes an effective primary health care program (PHC) and a public health program to prevent and control each of the problems listed above. Then, the donor COMMITS to support the MOH and implement PHC and one, two or all of the public health programs that will control the health problems. The donor creates a project to do what they committed to do and the project must implement the planned activities and work in coordination with all public, private and NGO sector health providers that implement the programs. Next, the donor-funded project MEASURES to ensure they are contributing and fulfilling their commitments as part of the overall health plan. And finally, the project and the donor ACCOUNT for the results achieved quarterly and annually. And that is how global health goals will be achieved sustainably and efficiently.
If you want to learn more about improving aid effectiveness to develop resilient health systems, I invite you to join the next free RGH webinar entitled “Aid Effectiveness in Global Health: Getting Back to Basics in Global Health”.
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