By Sharon Atieno
Despite a pledge to dedicate 15 percent of their budgets to healthcare, African nations continue to struggle with inadequate funding for health services. The reduction in financial support from donors is expected to exacerbate this issue further.
Against this background, specialists at the Evidence for Development (Evi4Dev) conference urged for novel strategies to boost internal healthcare funding.
Dr. Jackson Otieno, a Senior Policy Analyst at the African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP), called upon African nations to shift towards domestic resource mobilization. He highlighted that the current situation in the sector remains significantly reliant on donors.
He noted that Development Assistance to Health (DHA) constituted over 20% of total healthcare spending in 24 African nations in 2020, and surprisingly, it exceeded governmental health expenditure in 10 of those countries.
Dr. Otieno stated that “Innovative health financing methods are still underutilized.” He further mentioned that African nations have several strategies at their disposal, including health levies, debt exchanges, social impact bonds, along with collaborations between government bodies and private enterprises.
Dr. Daniel Mwai, who serves as the Presidential Advisor on Health Financing in Kenya, highlighted that fragmented services and standalone health programs pose significant obstacles to effective health financing.
“We could reduce healthcare costs in Africa by 40% through better organization and planning,” said Dr. Mwai, advocating for integrated care with versatile medical professionals. He further emphasized the importance of prioritizing preventative health measures over reactive treatments.
Dr. Patrick Zimpita, who serves as the Principal Secretary for Economic Planning and Development in Malawi, cautioned that increasing debt levels are constricting funds allocated for developmental projects.
Dr. Zimpita stated that there is an urgent requirement for restructuring the budget system since most African nations allocate 70% of their budgets to ongoing expenses, whereas only 30% goes towards developmental spending, with 80% of this latter portion being financed by donors.
Kwame Owino, CEO of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA-Kenya), emphasized the need for fiscal discipline and efficient resource utilization in Africa’s healthcare systems.
“People throughout East Africa are feeling overwhelmed, as evidenced by last year’s demonstrations in Kenya. It is crucial that we maximize tax benefits by focusing on essential public services and minimizing waste caused by corruption. Authorities should allocate funds prudently to sectors where citizens have the highest needs,” he stated.
According to Prof. Victor Murinde, Executive Director, African Economic Research Consortium, new technology can be leveraged to reduce inefficiencies in the health sector.
“There is need to unlock the potential of new technology. The adoption of AI, big data and machine learning is key in identifying best practices and reducing inefficiencies,” Dr. Murinde said.
Professor John Ele-Ojo Ataguba, who serves as the Executive Director at the African Health Economics and Policy Association (AfHEA), emphasized that considering healthcare as an investment is essential.
“People who want to invest struggle to invest in health because they see it as a sector that is not productive. Perhaps it is time for us to think. Think hard in terms of creating investment cases for investing in health,” he urged. “Investments in health don’t go down the drain because we’re looking at human capital, building up people who are productive to make sure the economy runs.”
Experts advocated for locally developed approaches, increased involvement of stakeholders, and significant investments in health-oriented technologies and financial strategies. With nations under pressure to maintain high-quality healthcare despite reduced funding, the consensus was that major overhauls, collaborations, and new ideas must be prioritized.
The conference was organized by AFIDEP, the Science for Africa Foundation, and AUDA-NEPAD in Nairobi, which is the capital of Kenya.
Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc.
Syndigate.info
).
Leave a Reply