Africa: A Child's Fifth Birthday Should Not Depend On a Foreign Budget
[African Arguments] A fifth birthday should be unremarkable.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has identified child survival as one of its top priorities for the upcoming country programme in Nigeria. In this West African nation, an estimated 116 out of every 1,000 live births result in a child's death, placing it among the countries with the highest child mortality rates in the world.
UNICEF's field chief in Nigeria emphasized that child survival is a fundamental concern and highlighted the need to strengthen health systems to ensure that every child has access to essential services.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) projects a significant decrease in health aid, ranging from 29 to 46 percent between 2024 and 2026, which equates to a staggering loss of $5 billion to $8 billion in funding. Such cuts can have devastating consequences, as they force nations to question how foreign budget decisions can influence the survival of their own children.
While the availability of funds is crucial, the speed and reliability with which these resources reach the intended facilities and families are equally important.
In a recent interview, Judith Leveillee, the UNICEF field chief in Nigeria, warned that short-term funding could hinder the long-term effort of strengthening health systems. This concern is not unique to Nigeria; it is a global issue that exposes weaknesses in African health systems. In Niger, a country where immunization financing is being addressed, Leveillee encountered the challenges of administering resources through various administrative levels, highlighting the importance of ensuring that funds move swiftly and predictably to the point of service.
In Ghana, the government has implemented a Free Primary Healthcare programme aimed at improving access to care for pregnant women and children. This initiative brings essential services, such as maternal and child health, immunization, and treatment for common conditions, closer to communities. However, the success of such reforms depends on proper design and implementation, ensuring that medicines, staff, and resources are available at the right time and place.
Simply allocating funds is not enough; they must be delivered efficiently and effectively to reach those in need.
The ultimate goal is to guarantee that every child reaches their fifth birthday, but achieving this requires a comprehensive approach that integrates child survival services into primary healthcare systems, ensures reliable disbursement of funds, and monitors the impact on children's health. Whether through increased domestic resource mobilization or external grants and concessional financing, countries must find sustainable solutions to build resilient health systems that prioritize child health.
Written by urgent.news from AllAfrica Health's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
