Health Budget : 15% Now!

Health campaigners and activists led by 2004 Nobel Laureate Prof Wangari Mathai have petitioned the African Union member states for failing to honour their 15 per cent pledge of their annual budgets on health care.

This fact became public knowledge as the WSF entered the third day.

The petition comes ahead of the forthcoming AU Heads of State and Government summit in Addis Ababa.

The petition by South African Nobel Laureate Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu, but signed on his behalf by Prof Mathai calls for Africa leaders to act fast and implement their pledges in a bid to reverse the ugly trends of treatable diseases in Africa.

“We write to appeal to you to act without further delay on arguably the most crucial challenge African leaders will have to confront in modern times, that of taking immediate and concrete actions to end the tragic loss of an estimated 8 million African lives annually to preventable, treatable or manageable diseases, illnesses and health conditions,” the Petition read in part.

Prof Mathai noted that sustainable financing for public health in Africa is arguably the most important challenge facing our continent today but which is put at the bottom of their agenda. She has thus challenged African leaders to revisit their 15% commitment as a matter of urgency lest Africans risks dying before their time.

In a campaign rally dubbed ’ 15% now’ activists noted that Africa risks loosing all her people to preventable and manageable diseases that have failed to top its leaders’ budgetary agendas. Yet in 2001 AU member states signed the Abuja declaration that called for each country to commit at least 15% or more of national budgets to health care.

“Africa is at the brink of extinction because our leaders have failed to prioritize the lives of their people. An estimated 40 million people Africans have died from health related conditions as a result of the Abuja commitment not being met.”

Citing the example of her own government’s negligence, she noted that the Kenyan government has failed to stop companies from producing thin plastic bags that litter the streets of Nairobi, acting as breeding grounds for mosquitoes and causing malaria.

Rotimi Sankore of CREDO Africa, an organization that campaigns for African rights lashed on African leaders for failing to break the ceilings as regards health issues. He accused them of prioritizing their own political interests in the expense of the lives of their people.

“Denying people of their health rights is like a death sentence. This is like genocide as generations will continue to be wiped off. Without mincing words, Sankore presented the grim statistics from UNAIDS and WHO indicating that 40 million Africans have died from health related conditions and many more will continue dying if our leaders fail to act accordingly.

The 2006 statistics from global and African health institutions indicate that at least 586,911 Africans are dying from TB annually, this is 35% of the world total. Figures also show that 24 million people living with HIV Aids have TB and that over 4 million children under the age of five die annually due to TB related infections.

Sankore sees the whole picture as damning as these statistics are merely seen as figures. The annual Aids death figures for Africa alone is 2.1 million. An estimated 24.7 million Africans are living with HIV and new infections are as high as 2.8 million. In the case of malaria, annual African deaths are estimated at 1,136,000. Also over 12 million African children have been orphaned by HIV Aids.

Chair of the Nigerian Social Forum, Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi said that Africa presents the worst indicator of women health issues with the continent having the highest number of women living with HIV Aids.

Gender budgeting, she said was crucial if women are to overcome some reproductive health issues that continue to surface amongst them. She urged nations to build alliances and mobilize health institutions. “Our leaders have signed these agreements so it is time we force them to ratify the protocols of the rights of women.

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