How Can Donors Help Build Global Public Goods in Health?
Aid to developing countries has largely neglected the population-wide health services that are core to communicable disease control in the developed world. These mostly non-clinical services generate "pure public goods" by reducing everyo...
Main Authors: | , |
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Language: | English |
Published: |
2012
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20090420112159 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/4100 |
Summary: | Aid to developing countries has largely
neglected the population-wide health services that are core
to communicable disease control in the developed world.
These mostly non-clinical services generate "pure
public goods" by reducing everyone's exposure to
disease through measures such as implementing health and
sanitary regulations. They complement the clinical
preventive and treatment services which are the donors'
main focus. Their neglect is manifested, for example, in a
lack of coherent public health regulations in countries
where donors have long been active, facilitating the spread
of diseases such as avian flu. These services can be
inexpensive, and dramatically reduce health inequalities.
Sri Lanka spends less than 0.2% of GDP on its well-designed
population-wide services, which contribute to the
country's high levels of health equity and life
expectancy despite low GDP per head and civil war. Evidence
abounds on the negative externalities of weak
population-wide health services. Global public health
security cannot be assured without building strong national
population-wide health systems to reduce the potential for
communicable diseases to spread within and beyond their
borders. Donors need greater clarity about what constitutes
a strong public health system, and how to build them. The
paper discusses gaps in donors' approaches and first
steps toward closing them. |
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