Lord Crisp – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Crisp on 2016-02-01.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government in the light of the recent inclusion of mental health targets under Sustainable Development Goal 3, whether the Department for International Development plans to review its strategy for funding mental health in low- and middle-income countries.
Baroness Verma
The UK’s health focus in developing countries is on improving the provision of basic health services for the poor by supporting and strengthening health systems, health worker capacity and access to essential medicines. Increasing coverage, equity, access and quality will strengthen health services to address all health problems including non-communicable diseases, like mental disorders and dementia.
The Global Goals are a major landmark in our fight against poverty. The UK has lobbied hard to make sure the Global Goals cover the areas not covered by the Millennium Development Goals, to make sure nobody is left behind including those most marginalized. DFID’s principal approach to supporting the Global Goal for health is to strengthen health services, improving coverage, access and quality so that services better address all major causes of ill health including mental health. The UK has played a key role in creating a set of goals that are universal and inclusive and focused on ending chronic poverty forever, for everyone, everywhere. The UK has been a strong and consistent supporter of the need to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
