Impossible to 'wean' when more aid is needed

Abstract

Kirigia and Diarra-Nama from the WHO Regional Office for Africa say that funding for health in the WHO Africa Region remains inadequate and that, in some countries, is significantly dependent on donor funding. They propose five strategies for these countries to “wean themselves off” donor funding. While each of the proposed strategies might have some value in itself, they will not succeed in the double objective the authors set: to wean countries from depending upon international health aid and to achieve the US$34 per person annual health expenditure target suggested by the Commission on Macroeconomics and Health1 – an amount that must now be adjusted to US$ 40 due to inflation.