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British Treasury chief calls for global free health care for every child By ED JOHNSON Associated Press Writer BOURNEMOUTH, England (AP) _ Britain’s government on Monday called on the international community to spend 50 billion pounds (US$83 billion) more every year to guarantee free health care for every child. Treasury chief Gordon Brown, addressing the annual conference of the governing Labor Party, said the world should be ashamed that 30,000 children died in Africa each day from avoidable diseases, because they had no access to health care. He said Britain would propose that the money be raised through the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, with the aim of doubling aid and reducing poverty by half. ``And one of the first priorities for that money would be to provide free health care for every child,’’ Brown said. He did not announce any new funding commitment from the British government for the program. The proposal drew a cautious welcome from a major British aid agency. ``We completely support what Gordon Brown is trying to push, but this must be a permanent commitment from governments,’’ said Andrew Pendleton, policy officer of Christian Aid. ``The rich countries have got to dig deeper into their pockets.’’ Most of Brown’s speech at the Labor Party’s conference in Bournemouth was devoted to domestic issues, and was seen as an attempt to reconnect the government with the grass roots of the left-leaning party. Many delegates are still incensed that Prime Minister Tony Blair committed British troops to Iraq without explicit United Nations approval. The coalition’s failure so far to find weapons of mass destruction, Britain principle rationale for war, has added to unrest. Although the party leadership ruled out any debate in the main conference hall on Iraq, the subject has loomed large in informal ``fringe’’ meetings. Brown, who is Chancellor of the Exchequer, called on delegates to ``back our leader Tony Blair in his efforts today to bring security and reconstruction to Iraq.’’ Tensions are also running high over the government’s plans to reform public services. Blair faces intense opposition over proposals to increase university tuition fees and inject private cash into Britain’s creaking state-run health service. Many in the party accuse Blair of turning his back on Labor’s socialist principles and aping the free-market policies of former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Brown, who received rapturous applause and a standing ovation, sought to reassure delegates that the government would ``always be on the side of hard working families and opportunity for all.’’ The Treasury chief, who is regarded as the most likely successor to Blair, announced an extra 2 billion pound investment to support pensioners, and said the government would introduce legislation to protect pension funds. He insisted the government remained committed to a publicly funded National Health Service, but said it must also be modernized. He called for urgent action to overhaul Europe’s farm subsidy program, saying it is the most urgent priority following the collapse of trade talks in Mexico. ``We must do more _ for world trade and for developing countries _ to tackle the waste of the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy), the scandal of agricultural protectionism around the world.’’ The Catholic Agency for Overseas Development said the European Union spent 2 billion pounds (US$3.3 billion) to dump surplus production such as milk, sugar and wheat on poor countries, driving down prices for native farmers. ``Gordon Brown’s commitment to reforming the economically mad and morally repugnant CAP should be applauded,’’ said CAFOD’s policy chief, George Gelber. |
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