Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) Alliance has asked the government to channel more financial resources to the health sector in order to ensure that the sector’s allocation accounts for at least 15 percent of the national budget.
During a SRHR financing review meeting in Lilongwe on Wednesday, SRHR Alliance Board Member, Lucky Mbewe, noted that the sector fails to meet an allocation of at least 15 percent of the national budget, which the Abuja Declaration, to which Malawi is a signatory, propagates.
He said SRHR issues can adequately be covered if the government treats health financing as a priority within the national budget.
“In the 2024-25 budget, health financing accounts for 12.2 percent of the K5.9 trillion budget. This is a very good step, when we compare the figure to that in the previous budget.
“However, we need to do more to ensure that we meet the Abuja Declaration requirement,” he said.
The meeting was organised by Bodily Autonomy Integrity programme consortium. Ministry of Health Deputy Director of Reproductive Health Services, Hans Katengeza, told participants that financial allocations towards reproductive health services are improving.
He cited the allocation of K765 million to family planning services.
Katengeza said the SRHR budget currently accounts for 13 percent of the health budget.
“We are moving in the right direction. We started from very low allocations but, over the years, we have been making some progress. As at now, if you look into the targets of the Abuja Declaration, although we are not doing much, we are now at 13 percent,” Katengeza said.
He expressed optimism that the requirements of the Abuja Declaration would be achieved in the next few years.
