Dr. Francisco Songane 06/Feb/2012

1. Developingsharedprinciples for the assessmentof the health impacts of developmentaidA country perspective Dr. Francisco Songane 06/Feb/2012

2. WhyDevelopment Aid • Many people ( billions ) still in poor health status and in deplorable living conditions • The countries where most of these people live in lack sufficientresources, and/or have limitedcapacity • Healthy populations are a major asset for socio-economicdevelopment • The economies are interlinkedandinterdependent; all the nations have to do well, not just a few • Expression of solidarity

3. Countries’ expectations • Aid contributes to development • Country vision andstartegies are fulfilled • Long-term perspective of the cooperation • Predictability of funding • Sovereigntyisrespected • Capacity building isaddressed • Favourableandfairenvironment to develop-tradejust as an example

4. Principles 1 • Inclusion, i.e. not a one side game • Country ownership • Activities concerned based on the country plan • Equity in the implementation • Use the existingmechanismsestablished in the country • Ensuresustainability

5. Principles 2 • Resultsbased monitoring of progress • Capacity building • Accountabilityat all levels • Agree on a cycle to assesssystemsdevelopment, e.g. 5 years Whileitis important to show where, how and whatthe Aid moneyisused for, thisshould notbeattheexpense of leaving out the assessment of theultimategoal-thedevelopment ofthe country

6. Developmenttakes time, we can’t expect changes in 6 months or 1 year. Money isone of the factors, and an important one. Whenaid money isused, in part is to createtheother factors, which are similarly crucial to enablethe country to deliverandrespond to the challenges. It isherewheretheproblem lies -unfair, inequitableapproachdriven to only show thelinkofthe $ with a particular output without due consideration to other important elements for proper service delivery. To reach consensus on the set of indicatorsthat capture both dimensions, and have themincorporated in the country reports

7. We can learnfrompreviousexperienceSome issues • Lack of synchronicitybetweenthedonors’ areas of interestandthe country priorities • Diverse lines of funding, andmultipicity of requirements, including monitoring mechanisms • Selectiveapproachratherthan a comprehensiveoneleaves important areas uncovered • Officialsfromthe country institutions absorbed by therequirements to meetthe conditions of grants or initiatives

8. Important aspects to consider in reporting • The country as the base; the report shouldbe about the country progress • Coordination andharmonizationamong all thestakeholdersunderthe leadership of theGovernment- to have everyoneabide by the consensus reached • Involvement of the local researchandacademic institutions • One report for all the partners

9. The principles are the same notwithstandingthe change of label • From Rome to Busan, no major changes in content • The problem lies on implementation-coordination has been loose, andthere have been frequentunilateraldecisionswithconsequences in one direction Cooperation for Developmentshouldbethe overarching message

10. Thank You