Winding up the first African consultation on Poverty and Health, a three-day meeting in the Zimbabwean capital, on July 21, the delegates also requested Samba to use the same fora to seek additional funds to be used treat the continent's biggest disease, poverty. Samba said that while he welcomed debt relief for countries in the region, such a measure was only a step to, and not a panacea for, achieving poverty reduction. He warned that funds accruing from debt forgiveness must be judiciously invested to have the desired impact and retain the confidence of external partners.
Accountability is the watchword of donors.
In Tanzania, Zambia, Niger, Mozambique and Uganda, public spending on debt is greater than in public spending on health and education combined. According to the WHO, debt remains a barrier to accelerating growth and improving the distribution of the benefits of growth. While debt relief is not a panacea for poverty reduction in much of the developing world, debt-relief can be linked to support and reinforce poverty reduction programs. To achieve this, says the World Health Organization, health should be made an important component of national poverty reduction policies, strategies and plans of action. According to health experts, poverty reduction strategies developed have not been as comprehensive and participatory as expected.