minister of Health and Social Welfare,Dr Hussein Mwinyi
In Summary
It was established that in the 2012/13 financial
year, the ministry expected to receive Sh264.3 billion from donors, but
until March, this year, the donors had provided only Sh114.9, equivalent
to 44.5 per cent of the budget.
Dodoma. The ministry of Health and Social
Welfare yesterday asked the Parliament to endorse Sh753.8 billion budget
for the 2013/14 fiscal year, out of which Sh435 billion (more than half
of the total budget) will be sourced from donors.
Presenting the ministry’s budget estimates in the
House, the minister, Dr Hussein Mwinyi, said that the budget would cover
both development and recurrent expenditure.
He told the House that the ministry has allocated
Sh471.2 billion for development projects and that the government would
contribute only Sh36.1 billion. He said that the remaining Sh435.1
billion would come from international institutions and development
partners.
Last year, the Parliament approved Sh581.6 billion
for the ministry, but until March this year, the ministry had received
only Sh325 billion from the treasury, which is equal to 55.9 per cent of
the total ministry’s budget.
It was established that in the 2012/13 financial
year, the ministry expected to receive Sh264.3 billion from donors, but
until March, this year, the donors had provided only Sh114.9, equivalent
to 44.5 per cent of the budget.
Dr Mwinyi added that his ministry had also
allocated Sh282.5 billion for recurrent expenditure - Sh169.8 billion
for salaries of workers of the ministry and its institutions, and
Sh112.7 billion for other uses such as employing 612 new staff in
various sections and promoting at least 707.
He added that in the same year, the ministry would employ 230 health workers who would be located to 35 councils in the country.
On development projects, the minister told the
Parliament that the government planned to improve infrastructure at
different hospitals.
“The ministry will purchase a new radiotherapy
machine at the Ocean Road hospital and a new CT-scan with 250 slices,
new heart, kidney and other medical equipment at the Muhimbili National
Hospital,” he said.
Commenting on the ministry’s success in 2012/13,
Dr Mwinyi said that the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR),
which is one of the agencies operating under it, continued with the
third phase of researching malaria vaccination, with encouraging
results.
He said that the study involved 34 villages in
Handeni and Korogwe districts where 1,505 children below 17 months were
vaccinated and received a booster vaccination last year.
“We are still following the study, and the results
show that children of between 6 and 12 weeks have good responses,” he
explained.
The minister added that in the same 2012/13 year, NIMR continued
with a study on the HIV/Aids vaccination known as Tamovac-01. He said
that the vaccination was tested on 60 people in Mbeya Region and results
indicated the vaccination was safe, producing strong antibodies against
the virus.
“The vaccination has shown good results as it
produces protection to the body, but the study continues and we are
looking forward to getting more good results,” assured Dr Mwinyi.
Commenting on the budget estimates, parliamentary
Community Development Committee spokesperson, Mr Ali Haji, said that the
House team had been satisfied with the way the government disbursed the
budgeted cash to the ministry.
He said that until March, this year about Sh256
billion had not yet received by the ministry. The delayed amount
accounted for 44.1 per cent of last fiscal year’s budget.
He stressed that in order for the ministry to
record good performance in the coming fiscal year, the government must
make sure it clears the Sh52 billion debts it owes the Medical Store
Department (MSD), which he said had caused unnecessary shortage of
medicines in public hospitals.
Mr Haji added that the budget was not enough to
solve health problems in the country as per 2001 Abuja Declaration,
which requires member countries to allocate at least 15 per cent of the
general budget to the health sector.
He added that it was dangerous for more than half
of the ministry’s development budget to come from donors and that the
amount which is obtained from local sources was not enough and not
delivered on time.
The opposition spokesman for the ministry, Dr
Anthon Mbassa, said that the government had continued to fail the people
in the health sector due to myriads of shortfalls in the systems of
supplying drugs and other essential facilities.
He said that the MSD was operating below standard.
“The government has continued to allocate few
resources for the ministry for three years consecutively, in 2010/11 it
allocated 11 per cent [of the total budget], in 2011/12 only 10.4 per
cent and in 2012/13 only 10.4 percent.
This is not enough for a sensitive ministry that deals with people’s lives,” stressed Dr Mbassa.
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