Stop corrupt health spending, thinktank urges

Economic stability must be in place before a country can reduce its malaria rate, a spokesperson from a London thinktank has said.

Research fellow at the International Policy Network Julian Harris told Accra that some governments were too corrupt to handle health aid.

His comments came after a £870 million package was announced by philanthropists and world leaders in New York to tackle malaria, including £91 million for new drugs from Bill and Melinda Gates.

More than 90 per cent of malaria infection occurs in Sub-Saharan Africa where 50 out of 52 African countries have "rampant" corruption, according to the Transparency Unit Mr Harris said.

He explained less than 20 per cent of donor funds make it to patient care in Ghana, for example.

The correlation between the economy and health can be seen in Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Zambia has shown an improvement in health since starting to stabilise in 2006, he added.

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