E-DRUG: African Health crisis: Activists blame African leaders
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www.panapress.com/newslat.asp?code=eng035838&dte=04/03/2008
Kampala, Uganda (PANA) - French HIV/AIDS activist group, ACT UP-Paris, has
scoffed at African leaders for failing to pressurise their wealthier
counterparts of the G8 to keep their promises to fund health needs to avert
an ever degenerating crisis.
Citing awful statistics showing that sub-Saharan Africa has 11 per cent of
the world population with 24 per cent of the global burden of disease, but
has only 3 per cent of the world health workers, the activists demand for
aggressive action to end the crisis.
"In their annual meetings, African leaders never held G8 leaders accountable
for the health problems in Africa. They talk about industrialization,
security and terrorism and never highlight health to ensure a quality life
in their respective populations," ACT UP-Paris leader Khalil Elouardighi
charged.
"African leaders must express publicly the need for G8 leaders to keep their
pro mises to fund health in Africa," Elouardighi said in an interview as the
Global Health Workers Alliance (GHWA) meeting continued in the Ugandan
capital.
He criticized the UN health agency, the WHO, for also failing to press G8 to
keep their promises and commitments on health, aid and technical support
for developing countries.
"WHO must now take responsibility for providing technical support solutions
to any developing country wishing to develop a health workforce plan and
submit it to donors for funding," Elouardighi further charged.
Emoluments disparities show that in sub-Saharan Africa and some Asian
countries, the monthly wage for a public sector physician can be less than
US$ 100; in OECD countries it can exceed some $14,000 per month.
The global health crisis is further worsened by an ever increasing migration
rat e of one in four doctors and one nurse in 20 trained in Africa are now
working I n OECD countries, due to poor emoluments.
"Income is an important motivation for migration, but not the only one,"
Elouardighi noted. "Other reasons include better working conditions, more
job satisfaction, career opportunities and the quality of management and
governance."
"Political instability, war, and the threat of violence in the workplace
also are strong drivers in many countries.
"Health workers typically move from rural to urban areas and from public to
priv ate sector to try and ameliorate their situation."
"Some times they leave their country altogether. This is the 'push factor,'
which results in qualified workers migrating to developed countries,"
Elouardighi observed.
GHWA Executive Director, Professor Francis Omaswa, says with a top up
investment of over current spending of US$ 35 billion over the next seven
years, Africa ca n overcome its health workforce crisis by 2015, through
training, hiring, retaining and deploying additional health workers.
According to International Monetary Fund (IMF), the G8 accounts for 50 per
cent of the world's combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and 85 per cent
of GDP of a ll rich countries combined.
"The G8 leaders therefore hold the key to any massive investment in global
public goods, such as health and the health workforce. They pay at least 85
per cent o f the missing US$ 5 billion per year (0.02 per cent of G8 annual
GDP)," Omaswa asserted.
Chairperson of the Bureau of Africa Union Ministers of Health, Dr. Manto
Tshabal ala-Msimang, blamed the health crisis in Africa to multilateral
institutions in advancing macroeconomic policies that impose severe
constraints in the delivery o f social services.
"Whether we term it down-sizing or right-sizing, such policies adversely
affect the delivery of health services particularly to the poor," Dr.
Tshabalala-Msimang , who is also the South Africa health minister, charged.
She called for solidarity among African and developing countries themselves,
pledging that "South Africa will not recruit from other African countries
that have human resource challenges."
"This is a principled decision that was taken to avoid worsening each
others' situation," Dr Tshabalala-Msimang said.
Interestingly, over 200 Ugandan health workers are reported to have migrated
to South Africa as the East African country suffered prolonged waves of
political instability since the late 1970.
Kampala - 04/03/2008