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"Almost 90% of some African countries' health budgets are funded through donor finances. Yet, African leaders accept that health is a critical component for the survival of their countries. At a meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, one decade ago they promised to increase their budget allocations for health to 15%. For many countries, health budgets have increased to about 12% since then. A human rights activist from Zambia, Daniel Libati, says leaders have shown their political will to take health seriously, but cautions that political will on its own does not pay for health.
'The political will should be able to be matched with the need that's on the ground and that matching comes in as far as resources are concerned. We look at the resources which our government itself is actually contributing to antiretrovirals and TB drugs, compare it to what our co-operating partners, that is, the donors are contributing, you come and realise that the co-operating partners are putting more into the basket than our government', Libati says.
South Africa is one of the countries that are not yet spending 15% of their health budgets on health."
'The political will should be able to be matched with the need that's on the ground and that matching comes in as far as resources are concerned. We look at the resources which our government itself is actually contributing to antiretrovirals and TB drugs, compare it to what our co-operating partners, that is, the donors are contributing, you come and realise that the co-operating partners are putting more into the basket than our government', Libati says.
South Africa is one of the countries that are not yet spending 15% of their health budgets on health."
