Workers' income in health and education sectors across Africa fall by 50 percent

Public spending cuts across six African countries have resulted in the incomes of health and education workers falling by up to 50 percent in five years, leaving them struggling to make ends meet, according to international NGO Action Aid. The Human Cost of Public Sector Cuts in Africa report published on Tuesday found that 97 percent of the healthcare workers it surveyed in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi and Nigeria could not cover their basic needs like food and rent with their wages, reports Al Jazeera.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is to blame for these countries' failing public systems, the report said, as the agency advises governments to significantly cut public spending to pay back foreign debt. As the debt crisis rapidly worsens across the Global South, more than three-quarters of all low-income countries in the world are spending more on debt servicing than healthcare.

"The debt crisis and the IMF's insistence on cuts to public services in favour of foreign debt repayments have severely hindered investments in healthcare and education across Africa. For example, in 2024, Nigeria allocated only 4% of its national revenue to health, while a staggering 20.1% went toward repaying foreign debt," said Action Aid Nigeria's Country Director Andrew Mamedu.

The report highlighted how insufficient budgets in the healthcare system had resulted in chronic shortages and a decline in the quality of service.

Women also appear to be disproportionally affected. "In the past month, I have witnessed four women giving birth at home due to unaffordable hospital fees. The community is forced to seek vaccines and immunization in private hospitals since they are not available in public hospitals. Our [local] health services are limited in terms of catering for pregnant and lactating women," said a healthcare worker from Kenya, who  ActionAid identified only as Maria.

Medicines for malaria - which remains a leading cause of death across the African continent, especially in young children and pregnant women - are now 10 times more expensive at private facilities, the NGO said. Millions don't have access to lifesaving healthcare due to long travel distances, rising fees and a medical workforce shortage.