Donor Funding for Health in Low- & Middle-Income Countries, 2002-2013
Data for this analysis were obtained on September 14, 2015 using the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) Database and Creditor Reporting System (CRS) (available at: www.oecd.org/dataoecd/50/17/5037721.htm). Data represent “official development assistance” (ODA), defined by the OECD as funding provided to low- and middle-income countries as determined by per capita Gross National Income (GNI), excluding any funding to countries that are members of the Group of Eight (G8) or the European Union (EU), including those with a firm date for EU admission.1 It is important to note that the OECD no longer collects data on “official aid” (OA), funding provided to countries and territories in transition, such as some of those in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet States, although some do receive significant donor support for health.
Data are in nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation or exchange rate fluctuations (unless otherwise noted) and represent gross annual new grant, concessional loan and/or equity investment disbursements in US$, from 2002-2013. ODA totals used in this paper have not been adjusted to reflect offsets corresponding to prior-loan repayments, which are neither identifiable with sub-sector financing nor universally available to lenders for re-obligation. To adjust figures for inflation and exchange rate changes, published DAC deflators were used. They are available at http://www.oecd.org/document/6/0,3343,en_2649_34447_41007110_1_1_1_1,00.html
This analysis combines data deriving from two OECD CRS sectors and one subsector to capture funding for “health”: (1) Health sector; (2) Population Policies/Programs and Reproductive Health sector (includes HIV/AIDS & STDs); and (3) Social Mitigation of HIV/AIDS, a subsector of the Other Social Infrastructure and Services sector. The first two of these represent the OECD DAC statistical definition of “aid to health”. The Social Mitigation of HIV/AIDS is a relatively new category in the OECD CRS. The term “health” used in this paper, therefore, is an aggregate of all three sectors/subsectors unless otherwise noted.
The sub-sectors used in this analysis are derived from the OECD CRS “Health”, “Population Policies/Programs and Reproductive Health” and “Other Social Infrastructure and Services – Social Mitigation of HIV/AIDS” sub-sectors as follows:
Sub-Sector | OECD Sub-sector Codes |
Basic Health & Infrastructure | 12191 – Medical services |
12220 – Basic health care | |
12230 – Basic health infrastructure | |
12261 – Health education | |
Health Management & Workforce | 12110 – Health policy and administrative management |
12181 – Medical education/training | |
12281 – Health personnel development | |
Research | 12182 – Medical research |
Nutrition | 12240 – Nutrition |
Other Infectious Diseases | 12250 – Infectious disease control |
Malaria | 12262 – Malaria control |
TB | 12263 – Tuberculosis control |
FP/RH | 13010 – Population policy and administrative management |
13020 – Reproductive health care | |
13030 – Family planning | |
13081 – Personnel development for population and reproductive health | |
HIV/AIDS | 13040 – STD control including HIV/AIDS |
16064 – Social Mitigation of HIV/AIDS |
Data for the European Commission (EC) represent funds from the European Union’s budget, as distinct from funding from member state budgets. The OECD DAC and CRS databases include EC funding as part of the multilateral sector; for the purposes of this paper, the EC is considered a donor government rather than a multilateral organization.
Data on disbursements for the donor governments include their bilateral disbursements only. Disbursements entered into by multilateral institutions are attributed to those institutions, not donor governments, in the CRS database (where donors do specify such contributions for health and account for them as part of their bilateral budgets, they are included in their bilateral assistance totals). General contributions to multilateral organizations are not identified in CRS with contributors.