Britain is to spend £1.8bn on the economic development of poor countries next year, more than double the amount spent in 2012-13, the international development secretary announced as part of a "radical shift" in policy that focuses on making it easier to do business in these states.

When it comes to what actually delivers improvements in the lives of poor children in developing countries – and what doesn’t – the people who know best tend to live in developing countries. They live with the problem and their lives are directly affected by their success – or failure – in developing the solutions. South-South cooperation is the process of sharing knowledge between governments and people in developing countries.

This week on South2North Redi looks at how three developing countries are tackling different problems in their healthcare systems. Professor Joe Veriava from the Wits School of Clinical Medicine, describes the Cuban system as an “interdependent, integrated system of healthcare". The emphasis on both education (Cuba has a 99 percent of literacy rate), health and political will has resulted in favourable healthcare indicators.

Norwegian Internet browser maker Opera Software expects its data-light mobile phone browser will play a central role in a Facebook-led project aimed at bringing Internet access to third-world consumers, Opera's CEO told Reuters. The project, called Internet.org, was launched last week by Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, who says he wants to make Internet access affordable for the 5 billion people around the world who are not online.

Facebook’s global partnership to expand Internet access in the developing world is getting a lot of attention, despite the campaign’s initial lack of specifics on how it plans to achieve its goals. The initiative — which hopes to get two-thirds of the world’s population online through cheaper smartphones that make a more efficient use of current networks — has been both hailed as a step in the right direction and criticized as a thinly veiled business strategy to reached untapped markets in the developing world.