The overall picture of TA pooling in Mozambique gained from this study is clearly varied. Many sectors are experimenting with different approaches to rationalising external assistance in order to make it more efficient and effective. The results have been mixed. Some schemes appear to have been more successful than others, but none stands out as an example of good practice on all counts. To understand better what works and what does not, the situation should be revisited in the future, perhaps in two or three years, to check on developments that are now only incipient. In particular, the impacts of the various schemes on the evident capacity deficit, caused by the flood of reforms and the subsequent demand for different, higher-level skills, should be fully assessed. A sustained investment in strengthening and expanding the national human resource base is certainly the long-term answer to many of the problems identified in this study. ------------------------------------------------ The pooling arrangements reviewed here have been set up in a variety of sectors – agriculture, education, finance, health and the police – and show strong variations in terms of their purpose, comprehensiveness, whether the aid is tied or untied, ownership, integration and success. The Mozambican authorities and IDAs are experimenting with different approaches, some imported, some genuinely indigenous. More often than not, pooling schemes have been introduced at the initiative of the IDAs.

African countries hardest hit by malaria are failing to contain it and a new U.N. campaign launched on World Malaria Day on Friday aims to ensure that all Africa has access to basic malaria control measures. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said some African countries have fallen behind in fighting the disease, which the World Health Organization estimates kills 1.3 million people each year, mostly children under age 5. "In recent years, several African countries have made dramatic strides in malaria control, but the most affected nations remain off track to reach the goal of halting and reversing the incidence of the disease," Ban said. "We need desperately to step up our efforts to roll back malaria."

Access to medicines is an issue of life or death for millions of people in poor countries. While great strides have been made in the last decade to improve health in poor countries -- more aid funding for drugs and vaccines; creation of funds to buy medicines; and concessionary pricing of medicines by some pharmaceutical firms –- the global supply chain that connects the dots –- production to people –- does not work well. The problem is poor forecasting of effective demand for products. Good forecasting is fundamental for key decisions, such as how much production capacity to build, which must be made years in advance of products being delivered. But donors that provide much of the money to purchase drugs, and a whole range of technical agencies and intermediaries, have yet to devise and coordinate among themselves, and with developing country governments, credible forecasts.