SWIFT ACTION REQUIRED

THE country is grappling with uncertainty over the freeze of aid from the American People. Last week, the reality hit hard with the closure of Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. This shows that there is a shift towards cancelling all diversity and inclusion programmes that were funded through the United States Agency for International AID (USAID) and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). This will inadvertently have indirect effects on HIV response.

Compounding on the issue is the uncertainty surrounding which other projects will be terminated, brewing anxieties from beneficiaries, implementing partners and the different response units within government. The country might likely face regression in the gains on the response in halting the spread of HIV and ensuring zero new infections by 2030.

It is a fact that the freeze does not only impact on the HIV response, it may also affect other livelihood-strengthening initiatives. This can result in a poor economic outcome, leading to poor social protection, convoluting to mounting resource requirements as the drivers of HIV and health inequality also include poor household and individual economic resilience.

Intertemporal impacts

Indifference to the aid freeze and termination will have an impact on the country’s economy in the present and well into the future. If there is no domestic response and gap-filling finance through the fiscal purse, the resources that could be expanded in the present will be required in larger amounts in the future when the eminent problems begin to manifest on the ground. Health is a critical variable towards improved productivity; hence the viability of commerce depends on a healthy work force.

Improvements in the stock of health capital affords individuals with more time to invest in productive economic activity and leisure activities, ensuring that emaSwati have capabilities and functions to lead dignified and valuable lives. Reductions in the stock of health will result in increases in absenteeism placing undue pressure on business.

The situation will be even more profound on daily paid workers, as a day lost to illness consequently means lost income. If individuals do not have enough income to fund their out-of-pocket health payment, effectively, the state has to come in to assist, and the resource requirements will be high at this point, requiring a re-alignment in fiscal expenditures and that may mean cuts in spending on productive infrastructure and halt in services that will be deemed as non-life threatening.

The cost of indifference will be profound on the economy. It is better to act now and sustain the gains rather than to incur a huge cost burden well into the future. If the payment in the present is foregone, then it will have to be paid in the future at higher pecuniary requirements.

Urgent problem

The urgent predicament confronting the country is how to push back on the gendered impacts of the termination of EGPAF. The programme funded initiatives such as pregnant mother to child transmission of HIV.

Studies conducted by multiple institutions in the country have shown that the incidence of HIV is higher among women in general and even more pronounced among pregnant and lactating women. It must be noted that the reproductive role of women is critical for the production of future labour force.

Inability to act now will result in severe intergenerational effects as the incidence of HIV on the future generation will also be on a surge and inhibited future health stock and diminished prospects of improved economic outcomes in the future.

As the Buganu Holiday approaches, a holiday the King declared for Lutsango, government’s indifference to the plight of women is actually viewed as going against his Majesty’s commitment to women empowerment. His Majesty recognised that ours is the only country in the world that does not have woman’s day which always falls on March 8.

It is a stride towards gender equality to have this day observed in the kingdom. In economics, any policy decision is always analysed within the confines of explicit and implicit assumption. Government’s inaction to the crisis is implicitly viewed as indifference on the social, health and gender equality needs of the people.

Funding landscape

 The country cannot afford to be indifferent to this freeze, global recession of USAID will have ripple effects into UK International Development Assistance and Europe AID. The development aid assistance landscape is shrinking and domestic financing is critical.
Pressure on Europe to spend on military in keeping with NATO may result in cuts in development assistance. The UK has already stated that it will increase defence spending, through reducing UK-Aid. Government’s indifference to aid cuts will leave a gap that no one will fill.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: