Aid deal pledges free health care

Mother and sick child in Malawi (Oct 2005)

At least 10 million people in developing nations will get access to free health care, in an aid deal launched by British PM Gordon Brown.

Nepal, Malawi, Ghana, Liberia, Burundi and Sierra Leone have have said they would expand access to health services as part of the programme.

The plan, unveiled at the United Nations, is backed by $5bn (£3bn) from states and the online travel industry.

Mr Brown said the world must be "shamed" into stopping child deaths.

'Turning point'

For the past year, Mr Brown and the director of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick, have been leading an international taskforce to raise money to help improve health care in developing countries.

Of the $5bn committed, an estimated $3bn (£1.8bn) will come from voluntary contributions solicited by the online travel industry.

The balance is being raised by the United Kingdom, Austria, Norway and the Netherlands, through an extension of the international finance facility which raises money on capital markets through government bonds which will be repaid from future aid budgets.

Mr Brown said the UK's contribution would be worth £250m ($410m).

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