Minister of Health, Dr. Fenton Ferguson says the removal of donor funding for health programmes puts the current achievements at risk of reversal. He said in this regard several factors apart from countries’ National Income should be considered when determining whether donor funding is provided to assist with the public health sector.
Dr. Ferguson was speaking on Monday, February 23, 2015 at the Global Fund Expert Panel of the Equitable Access Initiative held in Geneva, Switzerland.
He said Jamaica’s achievements in health, like many other countries are at risk because “we are poised to lose many benefits and financing assistance in several areas as a result of being categorized as an upper middle income nation.”
He said while the classification may be justified from a conventional accounting approach, from a development perspective other factors than national income must be taken into consideration.
In the case of Jamaica he said the fact that the disposable income which must support national expenditure is significantly restricted and that debt servicing places a great burden on the national budget are important considerations.
Others include the poverty indices, the data within a country’s social safety net mechanisms, out of pocket payment required for health care and associated costs, the cost of the basic food package versus the minimum wage and health spend as a proportion of overall government spending.
Dr. Ferguson explained that the retrenchment of donor funds to countries with a similar profile as Jamaica undermines efforts to provide equity in access to health care especially for the most vulnerable.
The Equitable Access Initiative recognises the limitations of the use of Gross National Income per capita to determine countries’ eligibility for donor funding. It seeks to promote discussion among the stakeholders involved in global health, identify variations in current calculations, and explore new ways to measure and interpret country needs and capacities.
Dr. Ferguson spoke on “specific challenges and potential solutions to achieving more equitable access to health commodities and services” along with Stefan Dercon, Chief Economist, UK Department for International Development. The section was co-chaired by Donald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank and Pascal Lamy, President Emeritus Notre Europe and Former Head of World Trade Organisation.
Jamaica was the only country from Latin American and the Caribbean that was invited to the meeting as part of an expert panel.