A new drive to meet the health commitments of the United Nations' millennium development goals was announced last week, as Britain and other European countries joined many of the world's biggest health agencies and foundations to launch the International Health Partnership. The new partnership aims to simplify and improve the delivery of aid to selected developing countries.

“Our vision today is that we can triumph over ancient scourges and for the first time in history conquer polio, tuberculosis, measles, and then, with further advances …