LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-A report released by ActionAid Malawi says the Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19) pandemic has strained the country’s economy, leaving most public services especially in health and education sectors chronically underfunded and leading to an increased burden of care work falling mostly on women.
Titled “Who Cares for the Future: Finance Gender Responsive Public Services” the report calls for the immediate financing of health and education sectors in order to urgently address the emergency need for longer-term structural changes to transform public systems for the future.
Invited stakeholders to the launch of the report participated through virtual video conferencing which was coordinated from ActionAid Malawi headquarters in the Capital Lilongwe.
Speaking in an interview with The Maravi Post after the launch of the report, Head of Programs and Policy at ActionAid Malawi, Clement Banda, said the emergency financing to health and education services should particularly address the plight of the larger female workforce which is already suffering the burden of unpaid care work.
“Our call is that government should take advantage of the six months debt repayment holiday to use the resources we should have used to service the debts to invest in public services like health and education.
“Government must also negotiate for better repayment terms–longer terms that would allow chance for accumulation of resources to be invested in public services,” he said.
Banda added that the ActionAid report also urges the country to be enhancing its existing means of making resources available for government to continue financing public services.
In this regard, Banda said the report calls for, among other things, the review of the taxation policies and strategies so that government should be able to generate more money.
He noted that the burden of unpaid care work on the female workforce especially in health and education services is serious, saying a timely investment is vital in order to protect women against Covid-19.
“Otherwise we are risking the lives of women as they provide services. And the burden of the workload is just too much. Statistics show that women in the country do seven times more domestic work than men.
“Government must invest in public services such as health and education so that we lessen the burden of work on women. Women must be protected as they provide the public service.
“And the investment should support the provision of quality service. Whether government invests in training personnel, infrastructure–all these should trickle down to lessening the burden of care work women do”.
Banda said ActionAid with its stakeholders–Malawi Health Equity Network, Civil Society Education Coalition and many others–will continue engaging government in order to hold it to task on calls outlined in the report.
And in his remarks, Chief Gender Officer in the Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare, Ronald Phiri, welcomed the call for government to take advantage of the debt repayment holiday, saying debts suffocate public expenditure and investment in crucial sectors such health and education.
Apparently, according to the ActionAid Malawi report, what the country spends on debt payments amounts to 80 percent of its combined spend on health and education.
