Cure, Curse, or Mixed Blessing?

Ministers of Finance in many developing countries are increasingly reluctant to expand health budgets unless they can see a clear link to better health outcomes, such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Many countries, especially those in Africa, risk not achieving the MDGs for child and maternal health by 2015. According to a recent UNICEF report, only 24% of 68 priority countries are “on track” to achieve the child health goal (MDG 4) by 2015 [UNICEF, 2008].