A recent report shows that increased spending has helped developing countries progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Are governments keeping their commitments on health spending, to make sure that mothers and babies get the care they need?
The Government Spending Watch report, written by Development Finance International and Oxfam, is the first ever to track what developing countries are spending on the MDGs. With just over two years to go before the deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals, it looks at how much countries are spending, and whether they are achieving their aims. The evidence demonstrates that recent spending increases have led to rapid progress on the MDGs.It also tells us how countries are living up to their spending commitments on health, including commitments made in Abuja in 2001. At this meeting hosted by then President of Nigeria, President Obasanjo, African heads of states promised to increase spending on health to 15% of their annual budgets. They set no deadline for meeting this commitment.In 2011:
- only Malawi had reached this goal by spending more than 15% of its budget on health
- Tanzania spent more than 10%
- Ghana and Sierra Leone spent close to 10%
- Nigeria spent around 5%
- Ghana is within this range, which is the minimum needed
- Malawi, Nigeria, and Tanzania spent less than $20 per person on health in 2011
- Sierra Leone spent less than $10 per capita in that year
- Ghana and Sierra Leone are among the few countries who have more than the 44% average level of data accessible to the public and civil society.
- Malawi and Tanzania have between 25-43% of the necessary data available
- Nigeria is one of 5 countries who have less than 25% of the data needed accessible