No-one wants to be poor or in debt. But many people around the world are unable to help themselves get out of the situation they are in. This is known as the Poverty Cycle and it can be passed down through the generations. This is not just an LIC issue though, there are many trapped in a cycle of poverty in high income countries too.
In LIC's people may also try to better their situation by moving. Many people will move from rural to urban areas. But many move with little or no money or possessions, so their situation often doesn't improve, especially if they don't know anyone in the cities and they often live in squatter settlements (see Changing Urban Environments for more).
BUT some people will try to improve their own situation, through self-help, and communities can work together to improve the situation for a whole area and fund not only themselves, but communal buildings such as schools or health centres. This is where FairTrade comes in.
In LIC's people may also try to better their situation by moving. Many people will move from rural to urban areas. But many move with little or no money or possessions, so their situation often doesn't improve, especially if they don't know anyone in the cities and they often live in squatter settlements (see Changing Urban Environments for more).
BUT some people will try to improve their own situation, through self-help, and communities can work together to improve the situation for a whole area and fund not only themselves, but communal buildings such as schools or health centres. This is where FairTrade comes in.
1. (un)Fair Trade
Case Study: The Oromia coffee alliance, Ethiopia.
This case study is an example of how inequalities can be reduced.
What is fair trade?
Fair trade is all about getting a sensible and fair price for the goods that are produced and sold to an international market. In many cases the competition has squeezed the price of a commodity right down until it is barely worth producing. Coffee is a good example of this. In recent years coffee has been regenerated by the advent of more coffee shop chains, and the rise of the home coffee machine such as Nespresso.
Companies who want to sell products as fair trade must do so at a fair price and then buyers will also pay a bit extra to ensure that community projects can be developed. This works because if the farmers go out of business there will no one to produce the product. How would millions of people feel if they woke up tomorrow morning and couldn't have a coffee???
Some commodities that are grown fair trade:
Oromia Coffee Alliance, Ethiopia
Oromia Coffee Farmers Co-operative Union (OCFCU), the largest Fairtrade coffee producer in Ethiopia, was founded in 1999.
Information below gathered from Oromia's Website at: http://www.oromiacoffeeunion.org/sites/objective
The Alliance has several objectives which are:
From FairTrade.Org:
OCFCU members are dedicated to promoting environmental stewardship and social justice in their communities. Women hold prominent positions throughout the organisation and all six varieties of OCFCU’s award-winning coffee are produced with organic techniques in bird-friendly conditions. The co-operative was Fairtrade Certified in 2002. Today, OCFCU sells its coffee to Fairtrade markets in the United States, Europe, Australia, and Asia.
Oromia has 217 member co-operatives, with 202,397 farmer members, including 22,302 female farmers. The membership is growing every year.
Women hold prominent positions throughout the organisation and all six varieties of the co-operative’s award-winning coffee are produced with organic techniques in bird-friendly conditions. Today it sells its coffee to Fairtrade markets in the United States, Europe, Australia, and Asia.
This case study is an example of how inequalities can be reduced.
What is fair trade?
Fair trade is all about getting a sensible and fair price for the goods that are produced and sold to an international market. In many cases the competition has squeezed the price of a commodity right down until it is barely worth producing. Coffee is a good example of this. In recent years coffee has been regenerated by the advent of more coffee shop chains, and the rise of the home coffee machine such as Nespresso.
Companies who want to sell products as fair trade must do so at a fair price and then buyers will also pay a bit extra to ensure that community projects can be developed. This works because if the farmers go out of business there will no one to produce the product. How would millions of people feel if they woke up tomorrow morning and couldn't have a coffee???
Some commodities that are grown fair trade:
- Coffee
- Tea
- Cocoa
- Cacao
- Honey
- Bananas
- Flowers
- Wine
- Cotton
Oromia Coffee Alliance, Ethiopia
Oromia Coffee Farmers Co-operative Union (OCFCU), the largest Fairtrade coffee producer in Ethiopia, was founded in 1999.
Information below gathered from Oromia's Website at: http://www.oromiacoffeeunion.org/sites/objective
The Alliance has several objectives which are:
- To improve the farmers income by exporting their coffee.
- To maintain the quality of coffee production.
- To improve and maintain the sustainability of coffee industry.
- To improve quality and productivity of Ethiopia coffee.
- To regulate and stabilize local market
- To provide farmers with reliable service and our clients as well.
From FairTrade.Org:
OCFCU members are dedicated to promoting environmental stewardship and social justice in their communities. Women hold prominent positions throughout the organisation and all six varieties of OCFCU’s award-winning coffee are produced with organic techniques in bird-friendly conditions. The co-operative was Fairtrade Certified in 2002. Today, OCFCU sells its coffee to Fairtrade markets in the United States, Europe, Australia, and Asia.
Oromia has 217 member co-operatives, with 202,397 farmer members, including 22,302 female farmers. The membership is growing every year.
Women hold prominent positions throughout the organisation and all six varieties of the co-operative’s award-winning coffee are produced with organic techniques in bird-friendly conditions. Today it sells its coffee to Fairtrade markets in the United States, Europe, Australia, and Asia.
2. Trading groups
Key term:
Tariff: government taxes imposed on imported or exported goods.
Examples: NAFTA in North America and the EU.
A trading group is where a country joins with other countries to make agreements to reduce the barriers of trade, e.g. reducing import taxes which can increase the amount of trade occurring between parties within the group. However, this can lead to countries outside of the group being isolated and unable to sell their goods to their nearest market. This is why so many countries wish to and have joined the EU.
In poorer countries, when countries joins trade groups, the amount of money that a country gets from trading increases which hopefully means that more development can take place. But again, countries who aren't part of the group can struggle to sell their goods, and they may have to reduce their prices in order to sell their product which makes the market weaker for all.
NAFTA
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is a comprehensive trade agreement that sets the rules of trade and investment between Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Since the agreement entered into force on January 1, 1994, NAFTA has systematically eliminated most tariff and non-tariff barriers to free trade and investment between the three NAFTA countries. NAFTA is a formal agreement that establishes clear rules for commercial activity between Canada, the United States, and Mexico. NAFTA is overseen by a number of institutions that ensure the proper interpretation and smooth implementation of the Agreement’s provisions. Each NAFTA country forgoes tariffs on imported goods “originating” in the other NAFTA countries. Rules of origin enable customs officials to decide which goods qualify for this preferential tariff treatment under NAFTA. The negotiators of the Agreement sought to make the rules of origin very clear so as to provide certainty and predictability to producers, exporters, and importers. They also sought to ensure that NAFTA’s benefits are not extended to goods imported from non-NAFTA countries that have undergone only minimal processing in North America.
There are issues with NAFTA though. Some would argue that it has reduced the production in the countries of some commodities as it is cheaper to buy it from the others. This could lead to job losses.
Tariff: government taxes imposed on imported or exported goods.
Examples: NAFTA in North America and the EU.
A trading group is where a country joins with other countries to make agreements to reduce the barriers of trade, e.g. reducing import taxes which can increase the amount of trade occurring between parties within the group. However, this can lead to countries outside of the group being isolated and unable to sell their goods to their nearest market. This is why so many countries wish to and have joined the EU.
In poorer countries, when countries joins trade groups, the amount of money that a country gets from trading increases which hopefully means that more development can take place. But again, countries who aren't part of the group can struggle to sell their goods, and they may have to reduce their prices in order to sell their product which makes the market weaker for all.
NAFTA
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is a comprehensive trade agreement that sets the rules of trade and investment between Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Since the agreement entered into force on January 1, 1994, NAFTA has systematically eliminated most tariff and non-tariff barriers to free trade and investment between the three NAFTA countries. NAFTA is a formal agreement that establishes clear rules for commercial activity between Canada, the United States, and Mexico. NAFTA is overseen by a number of institutions that ensure the proper interpretation and smooth implementation of the Agreement’s provisions. Each NAFTA country forgoes tariffs on imported goods “originating” in the other NAFTA countries. Rules of origin enable customs officials to decide which goods qualify for this preferential tariff treatment under NAFTA. The negotiators of the Agreement sought to make the rules of origin very clear so as to provide certainty and predictability to producers, exporters, and importers. They also sought to ensure that NAFTA’s benefits are not extended to goods imported from non-NAFTA countries that have undergone only minimal processing in North America.
There are issues with NAFTA though. Some would argue that it has reduced the production in the countries of some commodities as it is cheaper to buy it from the others. This could lead to job losses.
3. Loans and aid
In the developing world one of the biggest issues is debt. Debt is becoming a bigger issue globally, but in poorer countries they cannot pay it back.
Click on the link to see a map of world debt.
http://jubileedebt.org.uk/countries
It is important to recognise here that they are two separate things. A loan requires repayment and aid is hopefully given freely. Of course in reality we know that much aid is tied or linked to something else in order for the country donating the aid to get something in return.
Aid
Aid comes in many forms and is given for a variety of reasons. After the Haiti earthquake many different things were needed such as food, shelter, supplies for babies as well as money. This is often where charities such as Oxfam, the Red Cross, and Worldvision step in. The UN also run a variety of programmes including sending emergency food supplies to areas in need. They did this after the Nepalese earthquake. The UN also run programmes to study the welfare of people all around the world.
Types of aid
Data in the World Bank's global development finance 2012 report (pdf) shows total external debt stocks owed by developing countries increased by $437bn over 12 months to stand at $4tn at the end of 2010, the latest period for which data is available.
Many countries borrow money in order to build new factories or develop their infrastructure. But they are different to aid as countries are expected to pay them back. This is a problem as while some countries can, the economic downturn, civil war, natural disasters can all stop a country making its repayments.
Many countries borrow the money from the IMF or the World Bank. If things go well, the loan is repaid, but if it doesn't then the interest builds up and up and the country is under more produce to produce more food and resources to export which can make life difficult as they government may prioritise exports over the livelihood of its people.
Click on the link to see a map of world debt.
http://jubileedebt.org.uk/countries
It is important to recognise here that they are two separate things. A loan requires repayment and aid is hopefully given freely. Of course in reality we know that much aid is tied or linked to something else in order for the country donating the aid to get something in return.
Aid
Aid comes in many forms and is given for a variety of reasons. After the Haiti earthquake many different things were needed such as food, shelter, supplies for babies as well as money. This is often where charities such as Oxfam, the Red Cross, and Worldvision step in. The UN also run a variety of programmes including sending emergency food supplies to areas in need. They did this after the Nepalese earthquake. The UN also run programmes to study the welfare of people all around the world.
Types of aid
- Emergency or short-term aid - needed after sudden disasters such as the 2000 Mozambique floods or the 2004 Asian tsunami.
- Conditional or tied aid - when one country donates money or resources to another (bilateral aid) but with conditions attached. These conditions will often be in the MEDC's favour, eg the controversial Pergau Dam project in Malaysia, where Britain used aid to secure trade deals with Malaysia.
- Charitable aid - funded by donations from the public through organisations such as OXFAM.
- Long-term or development aid - involves providing local communities with education and skills for sustainable development, usually through organisations such as Practical Action.
- Multilateral aid - given through international organisations such as the World Bank rather than by one specific country.
Data in the World Bank's global development finance 2012 report (pdf) shows total external debt stocks owed by developing countries increased by $437bn over 12 months to stand at $4tn at the end of 2010, the latest period for which data is available.
Many countries borrow money in order to build new factories or develop their infrastructure. But they are different to aid as countries are expected to pay them back. This is a problem as while some countries can, the economic downturn, civil war, natural disasters can all stop a country making its repayments.
Many countries borrow the money from the IMF or the World Bank. If things go well, the loan is repaid, but if it doesn't then the interest builds up and up and the country is under more produce to produce more food and resources to export which can make life difficult as they government may prioritise exports over the livelihood of its people.
4. Debt abolition
Poorer countries can be helped by either having the interest on their existing loans removed as this is often the main barrier to clearing the debt, they can also begin to develop their country. When Levison Wood visited our school he said that having travelled through Africa, that cancelling the debt but also cancelling charity would help because it would incentivise countries to act. Charities like Make Poverty History and the Jubilee Debt Campaign aim to end debt in the developing world.
Some countries swap their debts:
A debt swap can be defined as the cancellation of debt in exchange for something else. Formulated in slightly more technical terms, “a debt swap involves the voluntary exchange, by a creditor with its debtor, of debt for cash, another asset or a new obligation with different repayment terms” (Moye, 2001, p. 1).
One form of debt swap is the ‘debt-for-nature’ swap. This is also known as a conservation swap.
Debt-for-nature swaps relieve developing countries of debt in exchange for commitments to
invest in local conservation initiatives affecting critical ecosystems. Many of the deals are
designed to benefit tropical forests that are essential to the well-being of communities and
nations.
Such agreements date back to the 1980s. Conservation International (CI) involvement in debt-for-nature swaps dates back to its founding year, 1987, when it purchased a portion of Bolivia’s foreign debt owed to a commercial creditor. In return, the Bolivian government redirected the funds to support protection of 3.7 million acres in and around the Beni Biosphere Reserve.
The United States and Brazil have signed an agreement converting $21m (£13.5m) of Brazilian debt into a fund to protect tropical ecosystems. Instead of paying back the debt, Brazil will use the money to conserve its Atlantic coastal rainforest, as well as the Cerrado and Caatinga ecosystems.
All three are under threat from severe deforestation, but receive much less attention than the Amazon.
The US has signed similar debt swap agreements with 15 other countries.
Brazil's Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira said the deal represented a "qualitative leap" in cooperation with the US.
Brazil will use the money over the next five years to support conservation and boost the livelihoods of people who live in the threatened forest areas.
Ms Teixeira said the Amazon rainforest had not been included because it was already receiving conservation funds from other sources.
Unique ecosystems
The Atlantic forest once covered most of Brazil's coastline, but more than 90% of it has been cleared over the centuries.
Despite this it still supports huge biological diversity, including 200 bird species and 21 primates found nowhere else on earth.
The Cerrado is a vast region of woody savannah in central Brazil where the natural vegetation is under pressure from cattle ranching and soya farming.
The Caatinga, in the northeast, is a smaller area of unique semi-arid scrub forest where few areas of the original ecosystem now remain.
The debt for nature swap was made under the terms of the US tropical forest conservation act, introduced in 1998.
Similar agreements worth a total of almost $240m have already been made with 15 other countries, most of them in Latin America.
Some countries swap their debts:
A debt swap can be defined as the cancellation of debt in exchange for something else. Formulated in slightly more technical terms, “a debt swap involves the voluntary exchange, by a creditor with its debtor, of debt for cash, another asset or a new obligation with different repayment terms” (Moye, 2001, p. 1).
One form of debt swap is the ‘debt-for-nature’ swap. This is also known as a conservation swap.
Debt-for-nature swaps relieve developing countries of debt in exchange for commitments to
invest in local conservation initiatives affecting critical ecosystems. Many of the deals are
designed to benefit tropical forests that are essential to the well-being of communities and
nations.
Such agreements date back to the 1980s. Conservation International (CI) involvement in debt-for-nature swaps dates back to its founding year, 1987, when it purchased a portion of Bolivia’s foreign debt owed to a commercial creditor. In return, the Bolivian government redirected the funds to support protection of 3.7 million acres in and around the Beni Biosphere Reserve.
The United States and Brazil have signed an agreement converting $21m (£13.5m) of Brazilian debt into a fund to protect tropical ecosystems. Instead of paying back the debt, Brazil will use the money to conserve its Atlantic coastal rainforest, as well as the Cerrado and Caatinga ecosystems.
All three are under threat from severe deforestation, but receive much less attention than the Amazon.
The US has signed similar debt swap agreements with 15 other countries.
Brazil's Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira said the deal represented a "qualitative leap" in cooperation with the US.
Brazil will use the money over the next five years to support conservation and boost the livelihoods of people who live in the threatened forest areas.
Ms Teixeira said the Amazon rainforest had not been included because it was already receiving conservation funds from other sources.
Unique ecosystems
The Atlantic forest once covered most of Brazil's coastline, but more than 90% of it has been cleared over the centuries.
Despite this it still supports huge biological diversity, including 200 bird species and 21 primates found nowhere else on earth.
The Cerrado is a vast region of woody savannah in central Brazil where the natural vegetation is under pressure from cattle ranching and soya farming.
The Caatinga, in the northeast, is a smaller area of unique semi-arid scrub forest where few areas of the original ecosystem now remain.
The debt for nature swap was made under the terms of the US tropical forest conservation act, introduced in 1998.
Similar agreements worth a total of almost $240m have already been made with 15 other countries, most of them in Latin America.
5. Loan solutions
- Business micro loans are becoming increasingly popular throughout the world, because people living in poverty need access to financial services through companies like World Vision and MicroPlace.
- Microloans (or micro-finance projects) began as a simple idea to help the poor start small businesses and earn income in order to help them move from survival mode to actual life planning and preparation. The Grameen Bank (see below) is the largest of these, but there are several others run by NGOs such as ActionAid.
- Although there are still some who are skeptical, it is estimated that over 100 million poor people have benefitted. Even though the amounts loaned are typically small (hence the term micro loan), the benefits are considerable to people living in poverty.
Micro loans are indeed very micro. Yet a loan of $20 will allow an individual living in poverty to begin a business and improve his family’s situation. The range of enterprises supported by these loans is huge, with many linked to farm production, processing and marketing. Most micro-loans however are linked to the garment industry, often producing clothes for export. In fact, business micro loans have been shown to be one of the most effective means of fighting poverty around the world. There are several very good charities which support micro loans, such as Micro Place and World Vision.
The difference between microloans and most charitable contributions is that they are in fact a “hand-up” and not a “hand-out”. Micro loans are meant to empower people to help themselves (90% of micro borrowers are women) and are a simple and extremely effective tool for reducing poverty.
Case Study: BANGLADESH'S MICRO-LOANS
- The Grameen Bank of Bangladesh is a micro-credit institution that lends small amounts of money to poor people who are ignored by the conventional banking system due to their lack of collateral.
- The Bank has helped 7,000 micro-lenders with 25 million clients worldwide.
- Its method of small loans has advanced the economic rights of women in particular and has contributed to national economic growth.
- Industrialised and developing countries have also adopted the Grameen Bank model to tackle poverty.
Across the globe, women lack control over material resources and are generally less able than men to realise their full economic rights. The Grameen Bank in Bangladesh was set up to empower impoverished women.
The Grameen (village) Bank was developed by Professor Mohammed Yunus in 1976, when the country was stricken with famine. Using $26 from his own pocket, he lent cash to poor village women so that they could invest in the livestock and materials they needed to make money of their own. He received sponsorship from the central bank of Bangladesh as well as commercial banks, and in 1983 the Grameen Bank became an independent entity.
Reversing conventional banking practice, the Grameen Bank lends to the poorest in society. The bank rests on the principle that those who are too poor to get bank loans are actually good credit bets.
Women, who make up 94% of its customers, use loans from the bank to invest in business ventures like matt-weaving and small-scale agriculture.
The Grameen Bank now lends $1.3 billion to 2.3 million borrowers, most of them women. With 1,128 branches, the $2 billion operation serves 38,951 villages, covering more than half of the total villages in Bangladesh. The average loan is $160.
In spite of a national illiteracy rate of 62% (78% for women), economic activity in rural Bangladesh has seen a marked increase since the launch of the bank.
In 1998, Dr Yunus was awarded India's Indira Gandhi peace prize for his efforts to tackle poverty.
A Worldwide Trend
The Banco do Nordeste in Brazil and the Dagang Bali Bank in Indonesia have copied the Grameen Bank model.
The United States and the United Kingdom have also welcomed micro-lending institutions for their own impoverished populations.
The People's Fund in the US has been granting micro-loans to poor women and ethnic minorities since 1995.
There is a significant micro-credit infrastructure in Britain.
The British Bankers' Association said there are 62 local schemes lending £5,000 or less to help the 'financially excluded' begin self-employment or start a business. The British government has also promoted the expansion of credit unions.
The UN has encouraged Western banks to lend more money to micro-lending institutions, and the World Bank is a major supporter of the Grameen Bank.
Problems
There are still many issues that constrain the aims of the Grameen Bank.
Critics have charged that micro-lending institutions rarely provide loans to those who most need them and that the interest charged in micro-lending institutions can be prohibitive, as it is 30% to 50% higher than commercial banks.
They argue that recipients often cannot make the most out of the loan they are given because they lack basic business skills. Moreover, the small sum they receive only enables people to trade goods, not become independent producers.
Although women are the primary loan recipients, often men are the key beneficiaries, as many husbands assert control over the money once their wives have obtained it.
In 2002, there were allegations in Western newspapers that the Grameen Bank had suffered an 85% fall in profits between 1993 and 2000.
Dr Yunus, however, claims that the Grameen Bank is in its 'strongest position ever.'
He noted that the bank is currently helping to finance renewable energy projects in 30 rural communities in Bangladesh. It is providing loans so that people can purchase solar panels and phone equipment to encourage Internet use.
The Grameen model does not offer a global solution to poverty but by helping to empower some of the world's poor in the short term, it paves the way for more long-term poverty eradication programmes.
Zambia
An example of debt cancellation.
The government of Zambia today (1 April) introduced free health care for people living in rural areas, scrapping fees which for years had made health care inaccessible for millions.
The move was made possible using money from the debt cancellation and aid increases agreed at the G8 in Gleneagles last July, when Zambia received $4 billion of debt relief; money it is now investing in health and education.
65 per cent of Zambia's citizens live on less than a dollar a day. Until today the average trip to a clinic would have cost more than double that amount, the equivalent of a UK worker having to pay £120 (US$200) just to visit a clinic.
"This is one of the first concrete examples of how the G8 deal last year has made a real difference to peoples' lives," said Barbara Stocking, Director of Oxfam. "People often bemoan the lack of good news coming out of Africa – well here's an example of real progress. It shows what can happen when people both in the rich world and the developing world push their leaders to deliver. Those who backed the Make Poverty History campaign last year should be proud of this achievement."
User fees were introduced in Zambia under IMF and World Bank pressure in the early 1990s. Young girls in rural areas were the main victims of the policy as their families were rarely willing or able to pay for their treatment.
Now that user fees for health have been scrapped, experience from other countries shows that there will be a surge of patients accessing health clinics across the country; many of these people would not have been able to afford care previously. In Uganda most clinics saw a doubling in their patient numbers.
According to Oxfam, Zambia's next challenge will be their chronic shortage of health workers. There is currently only one doctor per 14,000 people in Zambia (compared to one doctor per 600 people in the UK) and the numbers of nurses in the country needs to be doubled. Health workers are currently paid a pittance in the public sector and have to work in appalling conditions.
"We commend the government for removing user fees in rural areas and urge them to do the same in urban areas. This is the first step towards addressing the health crisis in Zambia. More money is now urgently needed for medicines and to improve the working conditions of doctors and nurses," said Henry Malumo, National Coordinator for the Global Call to Action against Poverty in Zambia.
To ensure that the scrapping of fees results in high quality health care Oxfam is calling on donors to provide Zambia with support for the training and recruitment of health care workers, such as that Britain's Department for International Development is providing in Malawi.
The IMF also needs to ensure that its loan conditions do not restrict the employment of extra health care workers.
"Today's announcement will make a real difference to millions of poor people. On the ground it will mean thousands of people get treatment for the first time in their lives. Zambia will need continued support to recruit new staff but this is a massive leap in the right direction. We now need other African countries to follow suit," said Barbara Stocking, director of Oxfam.In a recent survey of 30 African countries only 3 did not have user fees for heath care.
The government of Zambia today (1 April) introduced free health care for people living in rural areas, scrapping fees which for years had made health care inaccessible for millions.
The move was made possible using money from the debt cancellation and aid increases agreed at the G8 in Gleneagles last July, when Zambia received $4 billion of debt relief; money it is now investing in health and education.
65 per cent of Zambia's citizens live on less than a dollar a day. Until today the average trip to a clinic would have cost more than double that amount, the equivalent of a UK worker having to pay £120 (US$200) just to visit a clinic.
"This is one of the first concrete examples of how the G8 deal last year has made a real difference to peoples' lives," said Barbara Stocking, Director of Oxfam. "People often bemoan the lack of good news coming out of Africa – well here's an example of real progress. It shows what can happen when people both in the rich world and the developing world push their leaders to deliver. Those who backed the Make Poverty History campaign last year should be proud of this achievement."
User fees were introduced in Zambia under IMF and World Bank pressure in the early 1990s. Young girls in rural areas were the main victims of the policy as their families were rarely willing or able to pay for their treatment.
Now that user fees for health have been scrapped, experience from other countries shows that there will be a surge of patients accessing health clinics across the country; many of these people would not have been able to afford care previously. In Uganda most clinics saw a doubling in their patient numbers.
According to Oxfam, Zambia's next challenge will be their chronic shortage of health workers. There is currently only one doctor per 14,000 people in Zambia (compared to one doctor per 600 people in the UK) and the numbers of nurses in the country needs to be doubled. Health workers are currently paid a pittance in the public sector and have to work in appalling conditions.
"We commend the government for removing user fees in rural areas and urge them to do the same in urban areas. This is the first step towards addressing the health crisis in Zambia. More money is now urgently needed for medicines and to improve the working conditions of doctors and nurses," said Henry Malumo, National Coordinator for the Global Call to Action against Poverty in Zambia.
To ensure that the scrapping of fees results in high quality health care Oxfam is calling on donors to provide Zambia with support for the training and recruitment of health care workers, such as that Britain's Department for International Development is providing in Malawi.
The IMF also needs to ensure that its loan conditions do not restrict the employment of extra health care workers.
"Today's announcement will make a real difference to millions of poor people. On the ground it will mean thousands of people get treatment for the first time in their lives. Zambia will need continued support to recruit new staff but this is a massive leap in the right direction. We now need other African countries to follow suit," said Barbara Stocking, director of Oxfam.In a recent survey of 30 African countries only 3 did not have user fees for heath care.