Poorer countries better at health grant implementation

Low-income countries with less-developed health systems are more likely to have a higher rate of grant implementation than nations with higher incomes and more developed health systems, according to a study in this week's Lancet.

This is despite claims that the poorest countries cannot use additional resources effectively, a phenomenon known as a low absorptive capacity.

Dr Chunling Lu and colleagues at the Harvard Initiative for Global Health, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA analysed of rates of grant implementation from The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The investigators assessed the effects of different factors on grant implementation for 265 grants in 86 middle and low income countries.

The team found that low-income countries—particularly those that are politically stable— were more likely to use grants from the Global Fund. This could be because where resources are desperately needed, more political and managerial attention is paid to such funds. This finding lends support to those who call for increased funding for health services in poorer nations.

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