ABSTRACT
In the year 2000, countries all around the world signed up to some ambitious Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), with targets to be met by 2015. Health targets for maternal and child health and communicable diseases featured large among these goals. Investing in health system strengthening or primary healthcare is not sufficient unless backed up by good evidence of health workers and facilities serving communities who were previously deprived of basic, essential services and evidence that this is leading to better health. International investments are effective when responding to demand and existing national efforts. For international investments to support primary healthcare (PHC), there has to be a strong articulation of what is required at national level. While large-scale international investments in government systems will remain important in many low-income or post-conflict countries, many international investors are now looking for innovative, non-state solutions to the development challenges of rolling out PHC.
