How is the United States promoting country ownership in its health programs around the world? Hillary Clinton cites a few examples.
“Each of our country teams now assess how they fit within a comprehensive vision and program, based upon a health plan established by the country where we are operating,” Clinton writes in an opinion piece for Global Health and Diplomacy.
The Secretary of State says U.S. health agencies often don’t coordinate enough with donors or partner countries, or build sustainable systems to help countries manage their own health needs, “unintentionally putting a ceiling on the number of lives we could save.”
The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, meanwhile, is starting to veer away from emergency response and shift to building local capacity and strengthening health systems, as in the case of South Africa. The move has been contentious, but Clinton said “we want to see more of our partner countries take a similar leading role when they’re ready.”
As for measuring success, the United States is pilot-testing a “scorecard” that will allow it to assess progress in building sustainable, country-owned health programs.
“We want our progress to be transparent and want our partners to ask us hard questions,” Clinton said. “They can expect that we will do the same.”
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