Carolyne Nakazibwe
24 May 2002
A world renowned economist at Harvard University has dismissed arguments by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that accepting certain donor grants for health would lead to undue appreciation of the shilling and instead called for more funding for the sector.
Prof. Jeffrey Sachs said he found the economic argument attributed to the IMF preposterous and "hard to believe" since Uganda needs all the donors she can get, as well as increasing the expenditure on health to 15 percent of the GNP.
In a four-page letter to the Uganda government, the professor said by increasing funding for health, government will curb problems of drugs, diagnostic equipment as well as brain drain as health workers look for better remuneration abroad.
"Investments in health are among the best a country can make. Even at a time when budgets are being stretched to their limits, it is clear that responsible health budgets must be given the room to grow in these disease-ridden times," Sachs said. "That is why donor grant financing is so crucial at this time and should be maximised."
Recently a budget for the ministry of Health presented by Minister Jim Muhwezi to Parliament was slashed to a much smaller figure, raising alarm over the implementation of the health policies.
The professor also noted that AIDS activities in Uganda are not well funded, despite a general public belief that the country is getting a lot of money for AIDS related programmes.
He said the country has exceptional commitment to disease control and an increase in financing would in no way trigger macroeconomic instability. He said on the contrary, failure to respond to such epidemics could cause economic crisis.
"With your leadership, I hope that your government shall be able to offer a response to the world that ensures Uganda's future prosperity and health," he said.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2002 The Monitor. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
