UK government axes flagship global health project | Global development
A flagship health project in Africa that UK ministers said would play a vital role in protecting Britain from future pandemic threats is being canceled due to aid cuts, the Guardian has revealed.
The Global Health Workforce Program (GHWP), which supports the development and training of healthcare staff in six African countries, will close at the end of the month, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said.
Ben Simms, chief executive of Global Health Partnerships, which runs the programme, said: “This is a truly historic decision and the UK now risks making progress in global health that we will struggle to save.”
The GHWP has been highlighted as an effort by ministers and officials since its launch. increasing global pandemic preparedness by strengthening national health systems and finding a way to meet the UK’s ethical standards investment obligations In countries where it recruits large numbers of staff for the NHS and social care.
Similar programs have been running since 2008. The current program includes projects in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Malawi and Somaliland. Its current three-year contract was scheduled to expire this month but was expected to be renewed, as in previous versions.
Renewal of the fund in 2023 under Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government, followed by Health Minister Will Quince said:: “This funding aims to make a real difference in strengthening the performance of health systems in each of the participating countries, which will have a knock-on effect on improving global pandemic preparedness and reducing health inequalities. The pandemic has shown us that patients in the UK are not safe unless the world as a whole is resilient to health threats.”
In one of the projects, Power for the People Africa Trust is being funded through the program to train staff to combat gender-based violence and reduce associated teenage pregnancies and HIV infections in Homa Bay County, Kenya.
The foundation’s Caren Okombo said the gains could be reversed if funding was stopped, adding: “New HIV infections in Homa Bay today: at some point these infections will cross borders. [Britain’s] population too. So stopping them from where they started is something that should be important for a country like Britain.”
However, the Labor Party government announced last year that it would reduce the overseas aid fund from 0.5% to 0.3% of GDP in order to increase military spending. This follows a 0.7 per cent cut during Boris Johnson’s term as prime minister.
GHWP cut announced written answer to parliamentary question asked by former development minister Sir Andrew Mitchell.
FCDO minister Chris Elmore said GHWP will close at the end of March.
He said: “The UK should be proud of the progress made in international development this century. But the world has changed, so we must change. We must make choices with less money and focus on greater impact.”
Elmore said efforts were being made “to ensure the sustainability of the projects beyond the life of the program” and that the government “remains committed to international development and will continue to support countries to create resilient, sustainable health systems.”
A. Review by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) The report, published this week, found that the system of allocating official development assistance budgets in recent years was “not always based on shared strategic priorities or evidence of value for money”.
Global Health Partnerships said in a statement: “We understand the fiscal pressures facing governments, but we are clear that reducing investment in health workforce development in low- and middle-income countries will have real humanitarian consequences and ultimately cost more in the long term.”
They added that partnerships cannot survive on goodwill alone. “They require ongoing investment and institutional commitment, and once that bond is broken it is very difficult to put it back together.”
The FCDO has been approached for comment.
