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Donors bail out govt with K12bn health package

 

Four Western governments have unveiled $21.6 million (about K12.1 billion) package to support Malawi’s health sector budget lines and activities.

In a press release issued on Tuesday, the four countries—Norway, United Kingdom, Germany and Flanders—said they are pumping the funds through the Health Services Joint Fund (HSJF), a multi-donor fund.

The statement said in the first year of its operation, the development partners will commit $21.6 million to the fund.

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The money will be channelled to commercial bank accounts with externally contracted oversight and control in the form of a contracted fiduciary agent and a procurement oversight agent.

Reads the statement: “The HSJF is not a return to [direct] budget support; the money will go through commercial bank accounts with externally contracted oversight and control.”

The statement said the fund seeks to contribute to better service delivery in the sector.

The fund, according to the statement, expects to contribute towards the cost of utilities (water and electricity) for central hospitals and district health facilities to ensure critical services continue.

The fund comes at a time the health sector service delivery has been crippled by reduced or delayed funding with some district hospitals grounding ambulances and rationing or stopping serving meals to patients altogether. n

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