About one third of government budgets are devoted to health and education, but in most cases not enough is spent on the poor. Within regions, there are large differences in trends in basic services. In many cases however, sector trends are more income-bound than regionally or country bound.

Progress has been made on targets related to the Millennium Development Goals to improve education services and the health situation. Given the huge efforts and funds involved, it is not surprising that numbers are now increasing. However, concerns about the quality of services are also increasing. Accountability mechanisms are important to ensure access and quality of basic services for the poor.

With its governance expertise, SNV can play a meaningful role in helping to enhance quality and quantity (access) of basic services like health care, education, water & sanitation and renewable energy. SNV aims to achieve a major impact by helping to build the capacities of specific actors and assuring effective micro-macro linkages.