President Jonathan told African heads of government Monday to stop dependence on external funding for health programmes on the continent. Very good idea. May be that is why the 15% of national budget committed to develop health has not been met since Abuja Declaration in 2001?
Addressing leaders at the African Union Heads of State and Government (Abuja+12) Summit in Abuja, President Jonathan has said that Africa needed to “de-emphasise external funding and importation of essential medicines”. He urged governments to "search inward for solutions" and to “set clear goals, identify and implement effective strategies.”Governments needed to renew their national response to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria on the continent through “stronger, home-grown, sustainable” health financing framework.“Time is ripe for a final, concerted solution to these diseases,” President Jonathan said, insisting the “cost of inadequate action or no action at all will be too grievous to contemplate.”His comments come 12 years after African heads of state adopted the Abuja Declaration in 2001, which requires individual governments to increase health spending to at least 15% of national budgets.Latest health spending in Nigeria is about 6% of budget, which analysts have constantly criticised, unlike Ghana’s 12.5%.The African Union Commission, AUC, said strategies adopted since 2001 have helped push down new HIV infections by 25%, reduced the number of malaria deaths by 32% since 2005 and ensured treatment for TB now reaches some 30 million people since 2011.“Even though there is progress, Africa still remains off track on reaching millennium development goals and is still the only continent not on track to reach TB reduction target,” said Jean Mfasoni, secretary-general of AUC.The commission also said Africa needed to address “dependence on external funds and foreign-produced medicines” as well as scale up services.If Africa must shun external funding, it must be ready to implement any strategy to develop the health sector. Nigeria as a country spearheading the review of health spending should start with simple fulfilment of the Abuja 2001 Declaration. It is a matter of political willingness.Written by Judd-Leonard Okafor (journalist/writer/champion for maternal and newborn health)