Fresh push for health budget

Parliament’s cluster Committee on Health, HIV and Aids and Nutrition has made a push for increased allocation to the health sector in the proposed K2.84 trillion 2022/23 National Budget, warning the current amount is not enough.

Presenting the committee’s report in Parliament in Lilongwe yesterday, the cluster committee’s co-chairperson Mathews Ngwale said their scrutiny of the K283.5 billion health budget allocation indicated that the proposed funding was not enough to ensure sustained drug supplies and spur medical infrastructure boom.

In the budget, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Sosten Gwengwe presented in Parliament, the health sector was given the third highest sectoral allocation behind education and agriculture, in that order.

But Ngwale said the health sector allocation, which is equivalent to 10 percent of the total budget, fell short of the internationally set requirements such as the Abuja Declaration which Malawi is a signatory of.

“This allocation is not in tandem with the provisions of the Abuja Declaration which recommended that 15 percent of the national budget be allocated to health,” he said.

Breaking down the health subsector funding, Ngwale said there was need for additional K21 billion to the drugs budget for district health offices (DHOs).

He said: “The drugs budget has been pegged at K35.9 billion of which K19.1 billion is meant for central hospitals while K17 billion is for DHOs.

“However, the Ministry of Health indicated that for the DHOs to meet their drugs and medical supplies requirements, there is need for an additional K21 billion to ensure availability of drugs throughout the year and avoid a repeat of 2021/22 financial year situation where most of the DHOs depleted their drug budget before the lapse of the financial year.”

Ngwale also expressed concern over funding towards the development budget for the Ministry of Health despite being adjusted from K40.5 billion in the 2021/22 financial year to K67 billion.

He said: “Out of this allocation, only K8 billion will be funded by the government. Though government has allocated K8 billion towards the capital budget, the total requirement from government for the 2022/23 financial year is pegged at K22 billion. This indicates that there is a shortfall of K14 billion. The cluster was concerned that the Ministry of Health will not be able to effectively implement ongoing capital projects.

“To be specific, the construction of the 900 health posts project, which is very crucial in as far as provision of primary healthcare is concerned in this country, has been allocated only K1 billion against a total budget requirement of K15 billion.

“Construction of Domasi Community Hospital has not been allocated any funds despite requiring a total of K2.5 billion. Similarly, construction of Chikwawa District Hospital project has been allocated K250 million against a total requirement of K500 million.”

Reacting to the health budget in an interview yesterday, Malawi Health Equity Network (Mehn) executive director George Jobe said the cluster committee was making sense.

He said: “Our appeal now is to the House to consider asking the Ministry of Finance to consider raising the percentage which is now at 10 percent to 15 percent.

“When you look at this allocation, everyone has been allocated $20, but the World Health Organisation recommends $86. In future, we should be looking at the population and how much each individual is being given.”

Jobe said to achieve this, the country should introduce National Health Fund whose funding can be sourced through introduction of some levies on services and products such as driving licences.

Ministry of Finance was yet to respond to our questionnaire as we went for press.