As the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) met to discuss the role of partnerships in achieving the Post-2015 development agenda, the focus fell on the recent response to the Ebola crisis in West Africa and the need to work together to boost capacity in healthcare systems.<\/p>\n
Martin Sajdik, President of the Council, opened the meeting<\/a> by stressing the importance of partnerships, especially in the context of the transition from the Millennium Development Goals to the post-2015 development agenda and he introduced a keynote speaker, in Bill Clinton, the former President of the United States, who he said was \u201ctruly outstanding\u201d and who would discuss health partnerships, especially for strengthening health systems.<\/p>\n In an opening keynote address to the ECOSOC Partnership Forum<\/a>, Mr. Clinton described the huge impact of Ebola on West Africa and the huge effort made by many stakeholders, including non-governmental organizations, international organizations and the private sector, in its aftermath. During a recent visit to the region, he said he heard the same call again and again: \u201cHelp us build our health systems.\u201d<\/p>\n Countries in the region were requesting funds to build better, stronger health systems through multi-year plans. If the donor community set aside 15 per cent of relief funds over a three- to seven-year span to build up those systems, \u201cwe wouldn\u2019t have to worry about these problems,\u201d he said, urging donor nations to help strengthen health sectors, which would save money in the long-run and make nations more self-sufficient.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have to have health systems or we\u2019ll be back here four or five years from now \u2013 not in these countries but in some other countries,\u201d said Mr. Clinton. \u201cIt is the most economically sensible thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the biggest struggle of the 21st century world is the battle between inclusion and exclusion, noting that partnerships are needed to achieve both peace and development objectives.<\/p>\n He described a Clinton Health Initiative programme launched in cooperation with the Rwandan Government and other partners, which aimed at better resourcing and building up the country\u2019s health systems. He said that work such as the project he described in Rwanda should be done everywhere.<\/p>\n He called on members to \u201cexalt\u201d partnerships, to bring together partners that would not traditionally have worked together, and to \u201ctell people what we\u2019re doing\u201d in order to secure the necessary funding. Long-term investments and broad-based partnerships were critical.<\/p>\n