§ Mrs. SpelmanTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on her Department's policy on the creation of paramedical health personnel to administer simple treatments in developing countries. [80552]
§ Clare ShortHealth systems in many poor countries do not have the capacity to deliver drugs and care in a safe and effective way. The Government's long term strategy is to help poor countries develop functioning health systems with the capacity to provide a series of different outputs. Encompassing preventive, health promoting, acute and chronic curative care and services. Human resources are central to functioning health systems and our work with partner countries includes support for locally appropriate strategies and plans to ensure health systems have the right staff. In some cases, such strategies include the training and deployment of various staff to perform basic treatments. Since 1997, we have committed over £1 billion, to help developing countries put in place and strengthen effective health care systems. We are also working with the World bank, the World Health Organisation and other multilateral partners on this long term agenda.