Gitali: Health Financing Key in Achieving SDGs
By John Kariuki
Health financing is key to attainment of SDGs. We can dwell on rhetoric at the expense of effective action.
In my view, as the chairman of Tobacco Control and Health Promotion, I emphasize the need for a we’ll managed tobacco control Fund, among other funds. Harmful products should be made to pay for the mitigation of their harmful effects.
Tobacco and related products should be taxed heavily so as to provide funds that can be used on tobacco control and related activities. Property acquired through illicit trade in tobacco and evasion of tax should be confiscated by the state and put to tobacco control use. Penalties on violation of tobacco control policies can contribute to tobacco control.
We need to make trading in and consumption of tobacco products and product of addiction very costly. By so doing, the government will reduce disease burden caused by the harmful products, as it increases available funds for financing health.
Financing of Health should be done in an equitable manner. It’s unfortunate that preventive medicine is not taken seriously. Non-communicable diseases are given little attention despite them contributing 51% of inpatients and about 50% of deaths in our country.
Resources should be directed towards NCDs and Prentice measures. The government should allocate more resources to the same, but measures should be put in place to have the greater percentage of resources provided by the industries concerned.
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