Kenyan tells WHO gathering corruption a problem

POLITICAL corruption is one of the biggest problems facing African countries, a World Health Organisation conference in Maynooth, Co Kildare, was told.

Mr Peter Anyang' Nyong'o, a Kenyan MP, said yesterday it did not matter how much money was put into a country "if the government is not willing to use it well".

Mr Anyang' Nyong'o, a former professor said it was very "noble" for international organisations to have plans such as "health for all", but if the governments they were dealing with were not prepared to implement the programmes, they were pointless.

There needed to be a "revolution" in social democracy, he said, pointing out that 12.2 million children under five died every year in the developing world from causes which could be prevented with just a few pence per child. "But the economies are too back ward and the governments too corrupt to efficiently use the avail able resources," he said.

Some 40 non governmental organisations from Africa, Europe Japan and the US attended the three day conference, which is sponsored by the Government and the WHO and entitled Poverty and Ill Health in Developing Countries.

Dr John Martin, an Irish director of a WHO division which assists the least developed countries, said the organisation wanted to learn from the experience of the NGOs. "We are extremely alarmed at the state of public health around the world," he said. "But we are fed up presenting our alarm and now is the time for action."

The Kenyan MP told the delegates many governments in developing countries used "public office for public plunder".

"Public works meant to benefit the poor are very often directed towards projects with minimal impact on poverty reduction," he said. "But this is to be expected in situations where corruption and mismanagement grossly deplete public resources while channelling them into private hands."

The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ms Joan Burton, said the proportion of Irish aid going to the least developed countries was three times the level of OECD donors generally. This year's provision for aid was £106 million, 0.29 per cent of GNP, a "record level".

Sister Ursula Sharpe, of the Medical Missionaries of Mary, painted a grim picture of the situation in Uganda, a country devastated by AIDS. The government spent $100 million a year to service its national debt, but just $1.1 per person per year was spent on health for a population of 18 million.

The conference was opened by the Minister for Health, Mr Noonan, who said health was a universal need. "It requires a strategic approach and in Ireland our strategic approach is underpinned by three principles: equity, quality of service and accountability."