Spain: Increase in health development aid not enough, say NGOs
Budget increase of 39% not enough to acheive health objectives in developing countries, say Spanish development NGOs. More must be done if Millenium objectives are to be met
di Ges
Spanish NGOs working in the field of development aid have recently declared that the increase by 39% accorded by the Spanish government to health development in poor countries, although a positive step forward, is still far from achieving the Millennium Objectives. They also highlighted that co-ordination between the actors involved must be improved for this aid to be effective.
The representative of the NGO Doctors of the World showed a particular concern regarding the situation of contagious diseases, efficiently combating which would imply doubling the current amount of money devoted to this area. She argued that although the number of new HIV infections has decreased, malaria has caused more than one million deaths in the last period.
In relation to the reduction of child mortality, figures are not very satisfactory, as only 35 countries will be able to meet this aim. Regarding mother's health, much remains to be done, particularly in South Saharan countries, were maternal mortality during childbirth is one thousand times higher than in other parts of the world.
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