How do vertical funds impact health systems? CDG has some ideas.
August 7th, 2008Posted by Liz Delph
“Seizing the opportunity on AIDS and health systems“, a report just released by the Center for Global Development, takes a good look at the effect of three vertical funds: PEPFAR, the Global Fund and the World Bank Africa Multi-Country AIDS Program on the health systems in three countries: Mozambique, Uganda and Zambia. Given the levels of funding for AIDS over the past decade, it is worthwhile to take a step back and consider the larger implications of so much money in countries where health systems lack basic resources.
The report advocates a measured approach between providing services to to AIDS patients and ensuring that information services, supply chain infrastructure and human resources have the capacity to provide these services.
The report is part of a welcome trend in considering how vertical funds can optimize their impact, now that the funds are on the ground. Lead author Nandini Oomman puts it nicely in the report Q&A: “Given the emergency nature of the initial global response to AIDS, it is not surprising that donors circumvented existing but weak components of national health systems and instead created their own systems devoted to achieving immediate and demonstrable results. Now there is time to take stock of the effects.”
Eurodad has also produced a report on the larger vertical funds debate, and is producing a Reality Check issue on vertical funds in different sectors, to be out in time for Accra.