ACCELERATED ACTION ON HIV/AIDS, MALARIA
AND TB
(22234)
6802/01
COM(01) 96
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Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament: Programme for Action: Accelerated action on HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in the context of poverty reduction.
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| Legal base: |
— |
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| Department: |
International Development |
| Basis of consideration:
| Minister's letter of 25 April 2001
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| Previous Committee Report:
| HC 28-xi (2000-01), paragraph 8 (4 April 2001)
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| To be discussed in Council:
| May 2001 |
| Committee's assessment:
| Politically important |
| Committee's decision:
| Cleared |
Introduction
13.1 The Commission says that its Programme
of Action on HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, is designed to
establish "a broad and coherent Community response, over
the period 2001-2006, to the global emergency caused by the three
major communicable diseases, HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis,
which most affect the poorest populations and which undermine
global health". It intends to focus on three areas of activity:
- optimising the impact of existing health, AIDS
and population interventions, services and commodities;
- increasing the affordability of key pharmaceuticals;
and
- increasing investment in research and development.
13.2 When we considered the document on
4 April, we welcomed this ambitious programme but had several
concerns on which we invited the Secretary of State for International
Development (the Rt. Hon. Clare Short) to comment. She does so
in a letter dated 25 April.
The Minister's letter
13.3 The Minister has responded fully to
our questions. We reproduce her answer below as it is also relevant
to the work of the Commission on its management of external assistance
generally. The Minister says:
"Firstly the Committee
queried what action should be taken to ensure that the Commission
devotes sufficient resources to the Programme of Action. The Committee
highlighted that although the Programme of Action envisages reinforcing
and training Commission staff in the Commission's overseas delegations,
the Programme does not mention reinforcing staff in Brussels.
"As you may be aware, a key part of the reform
of the management of external assistance is the deconcentration[17]
of approximately 700 Commission personnel to its overseas delegations.
This should increase the responsiveness of the Commission's assistance
to the needs of target populations and should improve the quality
and speed of delivery. The reinforcing and training of staff in
delegations is therefore vital to the success of deconcentration
and a high priority for the Commission. Reinforcing the number
of staff in Brussels runs counter to this process. It is vital,
however, that staff, both in Brussels and in delegations have
the right mix of qualifications and experience. We will continue
to work with the Commission to ensure this occurs, by, for example,
recruiting qualified contract staff and seconding UK personnel
to the Commission. We currently have two Detached National Experts
in the health division of DG Development.
"Deconcentration will also enhance opportunities
for on the spot collaboration and co-ordination between the Commission
and other donors enabling a more effective use of Community funds
and more efficient division of labour with other donors."
"A related query, raised by the Committee, concerns
whether the Commission has the capacity to re-order its priorities
in line with the Programme of Action without disrupting current
work. This is an understandable concern. However, the Programme
does not represent a major shift in Commission priorities. Instead
it calls for more focused activities and strategic contributions.
The more strategic approach called for by the Programme of Action
will be less labour intensive than the technical inputs currently
required. In addition the burden of implementation will be shared
by DGs Development, Trade and Research.
"The Committee also highlighted the need for
the Commission to focus and prioritise its work and asked what
activities the Government thought the Commission should focus
on. The UK supports the need for the comprehensive approach in
the Programme of Action but has indicated to the Commission that
the following areas of the Programme of Action are high priorities:
'3.1.1 [Optimising the
impact of Health, AIDS and Population interventions targeted at
major communicable diseases and poverty reduction]
'Increasing coverage and impact of existing EC interventions
is essential, in addition to supporting the introduction of innovative
methods where appropriate and of proven value;
'3.2.1. [Tiered pricing]
'The EC is an important partner in the establishment
and implementation of an effective global tiered pricing system
for the benefit of affected developing countries;
'3.3.3 [Incentives for the development of specific
global public goods]
'The EC's contribution to strengthening international
collaboration and developing in-country capacity for research
and development will be valuable.
'3.4 [Participation in global partnerships: policy
and political dialogue]
'We strongly recommend that the EC continue to participate
with global partners to develop new approaches for large scale
and more efficient resource transfers to developing countries,
and to consider possibilities for contributing to it.'
"Indications from Commission working group discussions
are that other Member States will support the UK in pushing the
Commission to focus and prioritise its work and will be broadly
supportive of these priorities.
"Finally, the Committee asked what practical
steps should be undertaken to strengthen health systems in developing
countries. Strengthening health systems is a complex task which
requires sustained, long term support and investment. It requires,
in the first instance, developing country Governments to take
a lead to put strong health systems at the centre of their social
sector policies. Donors can assist this process and help bring
about increased budgetary allocations for health systems through
support for Poverty Reduction Strategy Processes (PRSPs) and Sector-wide
Programmes (SWAPs). Support for partner countries' efforts to
improve financial management, accountability, and planning capacity
will also result in stronger health systems. In addition, donors
can assist partner governments with efforts to better integrate
services and improve human resource management, training and development,
including through appropriate incentive structures for staff."
Conclusion
13.4 We thank the Secretary of State
for her informative response and note the active and constructive
approach taken by the Government towards assisting the Commission
to improve its performance in this area.
13.5 We are not entirely convinced that
the very small team at the Commission, headed by Dr. Fransen,
though of high quality, is sufficient in the short term and we
look forward to the Secretary of State's response to the International
Development Committee's report on HIV/AIDS: the impact on social
and economic development, published on 29 March,[18]
which calls for an increase in the number of HIV/AIDS experts
in Brussels. We urge the Government to continue to monitor the
Commission's ability to deliver this programme effectively so
that it is not hampered by lack of resources and expertise in
key positions.
13.6 We now clear the document.
17 The Commission's policy of deconcentration
is to devolve more responsibility for the management of projects
to its delegations abroad. Back
18 Third
Report from the International Development Committee, HC 354-I
(2000-01), paragraph 245. Back
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