Summary: July 2, 2004: Health in developing countries - Commission and World Health Organization join forces to deliver on development goals (Brussels)
The European Commission and the World Health Organisation have today agreed on a strategic partnership to reinforce their joint efforts to reduce poverty and improve health conditions in developing countries. Particular attention will be given to: (i) improving the health of mothers; (ii) reversing the advance of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; and (iii) strengthening systems for generating information about the performance of health systems.
On signing the partnership European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Poul Nielson, said "The European Commission places a high priority on improving health in developing countries, and recognises that this is an essential pre-requisite for development. The WHO is uniquely placed as the global leader in heath to support countries in putting in place a basic set of mostly simple but highly effective interventions - such as immunisation - that can make an enormous
difference."
David Byrne, Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, said. "Today's agreement further strengthens the already fruitful relationship of cooperation between the EU and WHO. This is especially important in today's world where health challenges and the solutions are increasingly global in nature. HIV/AIDS is just one example of where high level political commitment is needed, not only to fight the epidemic, but also to protect people living with HIV/AIDS, to fight the stigma and
to safeguard their human rights. The EU and WHO share goals and are natural allies. It makes sense that we join forces to meet the challenges that confront public health systems today. "
Dr Lee Jong-Wook, Director-General of the World Health Organization, said: "I warmly welcome this new agreement. It marks another step in our increasing cooperation with the European Commission, underlining our strong mutual support for the Millennium Development Goals. WHO particularly looks forward to working together with the Commission in supporting developing countries to develop and strengthen their health systems. These are the key to overcoming the massive burden of ill health
and premature death which keep poor people in poverty and undermine development. "
Cooperation between the EC and WHO in development has become increasingly close in recent years. Most recently the EC has provided €25 million from the European Development Fund to WHO in support of a joint partnership with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, aimed at improving the accessibility, quality and use of essential medicines. The EC has also made a substantial commitment to the fight against Polio in Africa, which is being led by the WHO.
With the new Partnership, the Commission and the WHO will further tighten their co-operation. This will involve regular policy dialogue at headquarters level and enhanced collaboration - particularly at country level. This will serve to support WHO's increasing involvement in developing countries' poverty reduction strategies, and will help to bring the country support strategies of the Commission and WHO into closer harmony. The harmonisation of efforts should improve efficiency and play well
into efforts of developing countries to assume ownership of the development process.
The overall goal of the partnership is accelerate the fight against poverty and work towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The partnership is particularly expected to deliver on: (i) reduction in the death rates among women in pregnancy and child birth; (ii) accelerating action on communicable diseases such as AIDS and malaria; and (iii) strengthening systems for generating information about the performance of health systems in developing countries.
The selection of WHO as one of the strategic partners in the field of development underlines the EC's commitment to the MDG's and recognises the critical role that must be played by the UN's specialised agencies in achieving them.
Background
Relations between the EU and the United Nations have developed into a diverse network of co-operation and interaction, spanning virtually the entire range of EU external relations. Total EC support to the UN family in 2002 reached €364 million. The UN, with its universal mandate and legitimacy, is uniquely placed to advance global solutions to our common challenges. Strengthening co-operation with the UN and with the specialized agencies is thus an important priority for the EU as a
whole, as was underlined by recent Commission Communications on 'Building an Effective Partnership with the UN in the field of Development and Humanitarian Affairs (May 2001)' and on "the European Union and the United Nations: The choice of multilateralism" (September 2003), and European Council Conclusions (December 2003).
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