Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Indeed, the IPS states that 'strengthening the capacity of health systems' is a
priority (CIDA 2005b). It includes 'improvements in health training and staffing …
and applied research'. the
Sustainable Development Strategy
states that 'cIDa will
continue to collaborate with key canadian, international, and developing-country
partners in an effort to build country capacity', which includes 'policies, initiatives,
and relevant research' that, among other things, 'strengthen health systems' (cIDa
2005b). However, in lumping together the growing problems regarding brain drain,
research capacity, and integrating the short-term goals of global health initiatives
with long-term needs, the complexity of such issues is lost. by assuming that
these issues are still a part of the domestic discussion about health systems, where
cIDa supports governments rather than initiates responses, the global aspect of the
problems is not fully recognised. these challenges are thus considered something
the developing country can manage on its own.
The overall Assessment of oDA in Global Health Governance
this chapter began by analysing global health initiatives as tools for eradicating
disease with significant resources and positive attributes. It also showed that these
initiatives can disturb and distort some of the other global health challenges,
notably brain drain, capacity building in research and local expertise for health, and
maintenance of a long-term core health service in developing countries. If there is to
be a comprehensive and proactive global health governance system, these issues must
be discussed in policy and must extend to other governance tools, such as oDa. If not
taken up by development agencies, these challenges will likely remain untouched by
the global health governance system. with regard to the oDa policies of three major
donor countries, there are some declarations but not much substantive discussion on
these problems, which leaves an incomplete picture of global health governance.
the three oDa strategies outline an understanding of the concept of health
as a global issue that fits with development issues. They acknowledged the need
for a global response to the problem of infectious disease, especially HIv/aIDS.
they all support the connection between development and security. thus epidemics
are identified as the prominent health issue or, rather, as a security threat. They
recognise health as a determinant of economic growth, and both DFID and cIDa
see the MDGs as the foremost global development strategy. DFID (2000, 12) even
acknowledges that the development strategies of the 1980s and '90s focussed too
much on economics and were subordinated to commercial interests.
In terms of a governance system for development and global health, the oDa
strategies support multilateral cooperation and contribute to global efforts such as
global health initiatives. However, they tend to avoid marking out a specific role,
or new set of tasks, for their agencies that would complement these mechanisms in
response to global challenges. Despite the agencies' years of experience in delivering
oDa, there is no forward-looking vision of what can be done to improve current
health conditions on a global level and of how to address future changes.
