Funding has soared for global health, largely because of unprecedented levels of private giving, of which the Gates Foundation is one but not the only example, says a new study. However, the study by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) also finds that the funding is unevenly distributed and that 12 of the 30 countries with the highest incidence of disease are not receiving as much as healthier, and sometimes wealthier, countries. Funding for health in developing countries has quadrupled over the past two decades from $5.6 billion in 1990 to $21.8 billion in 2007, with private donors providing 30 per cent of the 2007 figure, reports Financing of global health: tracking development assistance for health from 1990 to 2007.

However, while Sub-Saharan Africa receives the highest concentration of funding, some African countries receive less aid than South American countries with lower disease burdens, such as Peru and Argentina, and 12 of the 30 low- and middle-income countries with the most illness and premature death, including Angola, Ukraine and Thailand, do not figure in a list of countries that receive the most health aid, while two of the world’s emerging economic super powers, China and India, receive huge amounts. Some small island nations with relatively healthy populations, including Micronesia and the Solomon Islands, receive more health aid per capita than disease-stricken countries such as Niger and Burkina Faso.