By Lucy Ng’andu

Health rights campaigners have lamented government’s failure to fully implement the 2001 Abuja Declaration which rallies states to allocate 15% of their annual budgets to the health sector.

Malawi Health Equity Network (MHEN) board chairperson Caroline Kassam raised the concern in Lilongwe during a 2023-24 health budget analysis interface with the Parliamentary Committee on Health.

Kassam said despite the fact that government has increased the health budget to K330 billion, the allocated funds are not enough for the health sector to smoothly carry out its activities.

She said it is high time the country stopped depending on donors financing the national health system.

Chairperson for the Parliamentary Committee on Budget and Finance Gladys Ganda said the issues that have been presented are crucial.