[A future path toward cooperation: hospital partnership]

Development agencies have been promoting hospital programs in developing countries for several years. Although they have placed the accent on reorganising the management of these hospitals, most funds have been used for investment in buildings and equipment. This policy has failed, for several reasons. In many cases the field of intervention is too narrow, and involved too few professionals. There is also an erroneous belief that management restructuring can solve all the problems of running an hospital. Indeed, practitioners themselves, who are the cutting edge, are often ignored. Many projects are started without evaluating the resources of the hospital team. And a training program is not always the best solution when there is a lack of motivation or poor basic knowledge. Development agencies are often simply regarded a funding sources, yet money is not the answer to all hospital problems. Clearly development agencies cannot enter partnerships directly with hospitals in developing countries, but the solution may be to get these hospital more involved. For example, French hospitals are legally authorized to undertake international cooperation programs, free from time limits and political pressures, contrary to development agencies. What is more, hospitals in the developed countries can learn much about cost rationalization from their counterparts in the developing countries. Development agencies should thus encourage this sort of hospital "twinning" initiative and provide financial support, but it is important that the hospitals involved should be fully independent to avoid excessive bureaucracy.