2010 Reality Check - AFGH annual policy report

On World Health Day 2010, a new report from Action for Global Health urges EU leaders to commit 0.1% of GNI to ensure universal access to healthcare for people in developing countries.

2010 Reality Check - Report cover

‘2010 Reality Check: Time is Running Out to Meet the Health Millennium Development Goals’ urges European leaders to focuses on 3 issues which can break the cycle of poverty and ill health in developing countries.

By supporting free healthcare, strong medical work forces and community participation, EU leaders can - and should recognise the crucial importance health plays in enabling societies to progress and develop.

But time is running out. This September, world leaders will meet for the UN MDGs Review Summit - a progress check on the 8 Millennium Development Goals they committed to 10 years ago.

With only 5 years left to go until the MDGs deadline of 2015, the signs are worrying at best. Leaders of rich countries may claim the fight against poverty is a top priority but the facts tell a different story:

• Every minute, a woman dies from complications in pregnancy or childbirth - there has been no significant reduction in maternal mortality since 1990;
• Every day around 29,000 children die before they reach their fifth birthday - the vast majority from preventable causes;
• Each year, TB, HIV and malaria jointly kill over 5 million people - at a cost of millions of dollars to the economies of low income countries.

Health is a right not a luxury

Ten years on from signing the Millennium Development Goals, the EU still has no comprehensive strategy for tackling the health inequalities that exist between rich and poor countries.

In Sierra Leone, a preliminary doctor’s consultation currently costs around 25 days of income for one person. Across Africa as a whole, a shortage of well trained medical staff means that the risk of dying in pregnancy and childbirth is as high as 1 in 22, compared to 1 in 120 in Asia and 1 in 7.300 in Western countries.

Achievable goals

By committing 0.1% of GNI specifically to development health spending, European leaders can provide concrete support to the fight against poverty-related but preventable illnesses such as HIV, TB, death in childbirth and child mortality.

“This is not fairytale economics. The EU can help break the cycle of poverty and ill health in developing countries. The MDG Review is their last chance to show real leadership. Words alone are not enough, now’s time for concrete action,” said Sabine Terlecki, Plan EU Liaison office.

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