@article{c40bcff8da104ce7bc35e0a241c4d01d,
title = "Shall discretionary funds donated to developing countries be used in health system strengthening rather than short-term global health interest?",
author = "Bhuvan KC and Sunil Shrestha and Suresh Bastakoti and Saval Khanal",
note = "Funding Information: Discretionary funds through the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank, the Global Fund, and Gavi, the vaccine alliance, have contributed significantly toward reducing mortality and morbidity. 1 We acknowledge their current contribution to the health system through the local capacity building process, the involvement of the civil society in the implementation process, a policy of inclusion and diversity, and implementing their projects through local non-governmental organizations, 2,3 but we still believe the funds are more invested for short-term global interests. These should be more invested in the programs aimed to improve long-term health goals and capacity building of the health systems in developing countries. Discretionary funding is target focused and is generally implemented through the health system structure, which is vertical in nature and runs parallel to the government health system. Instead of strengthening the existing structure and process, discretionary funding diverts resources away from the long-term health system goals. 4 The public health programs funded by discretionary funding are dependent on the availability of funds and the economic environment in the donor countries. In addition, countries have to go through competitive bidding to get the funding and have to follow a strict procedure and guidelines stipulated by donors. Thus, the sustainability of healthcare systems based on these funding is always at risk. Furthermore, programs based on these kinds of project-based funding are rarely self-sustained in developing countries because of socio-economic reasons. 5 Let us consider a case of universal health coverage (UHC), which envisions providing people with access to healthcare services they need without undergoing financial hardship. 6 The UHC is actively promoted by the WHO in coordination with many international agencies in many developing countries. Copyright: Copyright 2019 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",
year = "2019",
month = aug,
doi = "10.1016/j.puhe.2019.05.008",
language = "English",
volume = "173",
pages = "48--49",
journal = "Public Health",
issn = "0033-3506",
publisher = "Elsevier",
}
