Public spending cuts in six African countries over the past five years have resulted in up to 50% of health and educators’ incomes, making them struggle to make ends meet, according to international non-governmental organization ActionAid.
Anthropogenic costs for African public sector cuts, a report released on Tuesday found that 97% of healthcare workers surveyed in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi and Nigeria were unable to meet their basic needs, such as food and wages.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) should be the culprit of the failure of public systems in these countries, as the agency advises the government to significantly cut public spending to repay foreign debt, the report said. As the debt crisis rapidly worsens throughout the global South, more than three-quarters of all low-income countries in the world spend more than health care than debt services.
“The debt crisis and the IMF insistence on cutting public services to repay foreign debt have severely hindered investment in health care and education across Africa.
The report highlights how inadequate budgets of the health care system lead to long-term shortages and declining service quality.
Women also seem to be disproportionately affected.
“In the past month, I have witnessed four women giving birth at home due to unbearable hospital fees. Since they are not available in public hospitals, the community has been forced to seek vaccines and immunizations in private hospitals. Our (local) health services are limited by the care of pregnant and breastfeeding women.”
The NGO says that drugs for malaria - which remain the leading cause of death throughout the continent, especially among young children and pregnant women - are now 10 times more expensive in private facilities. Millions of people are unable to access lifesaving care due to long-distance travel distances, rising costs and shortage of medical labor.
“Malaria is an epidemic in our area (because medicines are now beyond the reach of many people). Five years ago we could buy (antibacterial drugs) 50 Bieber ($0.4), but now it costs over 500 birr ($4) in private health centers,” a community member.
This situation is equally terrible in education, as budget cuts lead to failure of public education systems, damaged by rising costs, shortages of learning materials and overcrowded classrooms.
The teacher reported that the overcrowded classroom was overwhelmed and some had to manage more than 200 students. In addition, about 87% of teachers say they lack basic classroom materials, and 73% of teachers say they paid for the materials themselves.
Meanwhile, teachers’ wages have gradually declined, with their income falling by 10-15% over the past five years.
“I often have trouble putting enough food on the table,” said a teacher from Liberia, known as Casol.
According to UNESCO Institute of Statistics, four of the six countries included in the report are less than one-fifth of their national education budget.
"I now think teaching is the most valuable profession. I have more than 200 students in my class, and the teaching materials are insufficient, so it is almost impossible to provide quality education," said a primary school teacher in the Rumphi district of Malawi.
Action Assistance said its report showed that the consequences of policies endorsed by the IMF were far-reaching. It says health care workers and educators are severely constrained in the work they can do, which has a direct impact on the quality of services they can provide.
“Debt crisis and austerity measures in countries in the southern and low-income countries around the world are amplified, especially due to an unfair global economic system established by outdated institutions such as the IMF,” said Roos Saalbrink, global economic justice leader at ActionAid International. “This means the burden of debt falls on the most marginalized people – again. This has to end.”