RCP View On Govt Response To Crisp Report On Global Health Partnerships, UK

Main Category: Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 24 Mar 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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The Royal College of Physicians welcomes the government's response to the Crisp Report, 'Global health partnerships: the UK contribution to health in developing countries', particularly:

- The commitment of £1.25 million each year for the next 3 years to support Health Links, together with the commissioning of an independent evaluation of Health Links to strengthen the evidence base of their benefit to low income countries

- The commitment to provide £13 million over the next three years to support pension contributions for those volunteering through a member of the British Volunteer Agencies Liaison Group, such as Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO)

- The commitment to finance a UK International Health Links Centre - a 'one-stop-shop' to act as an information and knowledge manager for UK and developing country organisations.

The report is supported by the Ministers Gilliam Merron MP and the Rt. Hon. Dawn Primarolo MP, as well as the Permanent Secretaries of the Department of Health and the Department for International Development, the NHS Chief Executive and the Chief Medical Officer.* This demonstrates a commitment and engagement from both the government and the civil service at the highest levels.

We will continue to work with government and relevant stakeholders on issues around short-term training opportunities for International Medical Graduates in the UK. We believe that it is important that these opportunities remain available for doctors from all countries outside of the European Economic Area, taking into account the need to ensure that training is appropriate to the context they will return to.

We will also work towards supporting UK doctors in training who wish to spend a period of time outside the UK as either in-programme or out-of-programme experience.

The commitment over the next three years for Health Links is vital if this movement is to be strengthen and to ensure the sustainability of links. When links work well they can be a force for change for the better.

A significant number of our Fellows and Members are engaged in activities to support health and healthcare in developing countries and we also wish to acknowledge their efforts.

We look forward to the government expanding on their views on global health, and the timeframe for implementation of their report, at our conference Global Health: Current issues, future trends and foreign policy on 29th April (http://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/conferences/).

Royal College of Physicians