By Wezzie Gausi:
Minister of Health Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda has called for greater government investment in the country’s health sector, describing it as essential for delivering critical services such as immunisation and achieving long-term national development goals.
In an interview, Chiponda said that inadequate financing remains one of the biggest challenges facing immunisation services and the wider health system, a situation shared by many countries in the Eastern and Southern Africa region.
“We are working hard as ministers of health to lobby, with our Heads of State, to increase funding for health services including immunisations,” she said.
The minister cited Malawi’s participation in recent global and regional forums focused on mobilising resources for health, including the Gavi replenishment summit and the Global Summit on ‘Prosperity Through Immunisation.’
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She said while donor commitment remains strong, national investment must also increase to ensure sustainability and reduce service gaps such as vaccine stockouts.
Echoing the minister’s sentiments, health rights activist Maziko Matemba said increased health funding is the only way for Malawi to fulfil its commitment under the Abuja Declaration, which calls for at least 15 percent of national budgets to be allocated to health.
“This country cannot develop if we don’t have healthy people. The only way to achieve the Malawi 2063 is by having healthy people through increased health funding.
“We know the Treasury has to look at so many things. But we believe it is possible to have increased health funding for the betterment of our country,” Matemba said.
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The Malawi Health Sector Strategic Plan III (2023–2030) and the recently launched National Immunisation Strategy (2024–2030) both depend on consistent and adequate financing for successful implementation.
According to Chiponda, effective immunisation programmes not only save lives but also prevent the spread of diseases across borders, reducing long-term health expenditures.
In the meantime, other stakeholders continue to push for more resilient health systems that can withstand emerging health threats while ensuring universal access to life-saving interventions
