The Impact of Budget Allocations on Education, Health, and Social Welfare: Challenges and Prospects for Improved Service Delivery and Poverty Alleviation
By Lynnete Tatenda Hlatywayo
Introduction
The national budget is the main instrument through which the government makes a touchable commitment towards advancing citizen’s rights as guaranteed in Chapter 4 of the National Constitution. Budgetary allocations are fundamental in shaping the social and economic well-being of any nation for example access to healthcare, education, water and sanitation, and social welfare. Across the globe, social service delivery is at the core of national and inclusive development. These sectors play a pivotal role in building national human capital development which is the driving thrust of inclusive socio-economic development.
Challenges in Budget Allocations for Healthcare
While the above assertion remains true, it is critical to note that Zimbabwe’s health and education sectors have remained weak thereby cultivating an environment characterized by socio-economic inequalities and poverty. Over the last few years, national budgets for healthcare, education, and social welfare in Zimbabwe have remained tightly limited notwithstanding the sustained challenges within the sectors which have been exacerbated by the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic and the macroeconomic environment. A trend analysis of the national budget allocations towards healthcare for example over the years indicates that the government has constantly failed to allocate at least 15% of the total budget to the healthcare sector as per the Abuja declaration.
An analysis also shows that public health spending continues to fall short of national targets, regional global per capita spending benchmarks such as the NHS and World Health Organization (WHO) minimum health spending of US$104 and US$86 per person. Government inadequate spending towards this critical sector means that the cost of healthcare is disproportionately borne by citizens and women in particular who constitute most of the poor. Additionally, budgets both at national and local levels have remained vulnerable to inflation and exchange rate volatility. In Zimbabwe, where social sectors such as education, housing, health, and social welfare play crucial roles in advancing the socio-economic rights of citizens, it is essential to analyze how budgetary commitments are structured and their implications.
Zimbabwe failed to meet the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015 and unless audacious steps are taken to improve the situation, the 2030 SDGs health-related targets are likewise likely not going to be met. Understanding Zimbabwe's healthcare challenges is critical to making recommendations for aligning the country's healthcare delivery system with the 2030 SDGs. The public health sector is faced with a myriad of challenges which has also been brought to the forefront by the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Public health institutions are currently incapacitated by challenges such as brain drain, Inadequate healthcare financing, inadequate medical supply chains, dilapidated health infrastructure, and shortage of critical drugs and equipment. This is despite provisions of access to basic health care services including reproductive healthcare services guaranteed in the national constitution. However, national budget allocations by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development show that the minister is not in sync with the level of poverty, inequality, and vulnerability on the ground. The dilapidation of public health institutions calls for the need to relook at the health financing model at both national and local levels.
This call for increased budgetary allocations is critical for ensuring public health services reach the most vulnerable communities and groups. There should be an effort by the government to meet the domestic commitment to be at least 15% of the total government budget. Although this allocation is not enough, it should form the foundation for addressing the underlying challenges affecting the sector. Despite national budgets not being able to reach 15% as per the Abuja declaration, there is an emerging worrying trend of underutilization of allocated total votes and budgets have become rituals.
For example, the 2023 Audit report unearthed that the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) was allocated ZWL$7.6 billion for the health sector, yet only ZWL$4.1 billion was disbursed and expended, leaving ZWL$3.5 billion unspent. Central hospitals also received only 10% of the total allocation in the 2024 national budget This underutilization, linked to delays in procurement and inadequate financial planning, deprives citizens of much-needed health-care facilities, especially for the poor who cannot afford private care.
The 2021 Audit Report also revealed that the health sector allocation for non-communicable diseases was reduced to ZWL$120 million, but only ZWL$25 million was utilized, leaving a surplus of ZWL$95 million unspent. This underutilization has caused disruptions in the treatment of chronic illnesses like hypertension, heart disease, and cancer. There is also a need to underscore the importance of disaggregated allocations within the health budget to address the specific needs of vulnerable groups for example persons with disabilities (PWDs) who need assistive devices and sunscreen lotions. Despite being an essential need for people with albinism, this has gone beyond the reach of PWDs.
Challenges in Budget Allocations for Education
In addition, just like the health sector, the education sector is also facing serious challenges characterized by glaring infrastructure gaps. This is despite the availability of legal, regulatory, and institutional frameworks established across the country to facilitate optimum education delivery. The Education Sector Strategic Plan 2021-2025 is currently being implemented by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MOPSE) in alignment with the National Development Strategy (NDS) 1hammers on ensuring universal education coverage.
The government’s commitment to fund education aligns with Section 75 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, which guarantees every citizen the right to a basic state-funded education. Despite such progressive provisions, the infrastructure gaps within the sector are shocking and really threatening the delivery of quality education, particularly in underserved communities. The findings by the OAG for 2022 indicate that, in Bindura beer halls and garages were being used as school classrooms. Consequently, the failure of the government to finance health and education services optimally set a bad precedent for LAs, who are now allocating meager resources to the two sectors.
The government has also constantly failed to meet education commitments, including the 2000 Dakar Declaration and 2000 Incheon Declaration which is a benchmark of 20% of their national budget toward public education and spending of 6% of their national output (GDP) toward public education respectively. From an economic understanding, while allocation to education increased in 2024, increased volatility of the macroeconomic environment has led to late disbursements and utilization of allocated funds and erosion of real value. In percentage language, the budget allocation looks viable, yet after adjusting currency fluctuations it would be meagre resources not enough to address the underlying challenges bedeviling the sector. The 2024 national budget statistics revealed salaries constituting the lion’s share of total budget votes allocated to primary and secondary education (83%).
Challenges in Budget Allocations for Social Welfare
Social welfare remains a key facet of the social contract that exists between government and the citizens and is designed to stow socio-economic rights and the broader Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as zero poverty and hunger and reducing inequalities. Zimbabwe’s budget allocation for social welfare often reflects the government's commitment to poverty reduction initiatives, such as cash transfer programs, food aid, and social safety nets.
The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the level of vulnerability across the country. According to World Food Programme, an estimated percentage of 6 million people are expected to be food insecure between 2024-2025. The President of Zimbabwe, earlier in April 2024 also declared a state of emergency owing to the El Nino induced drought. Preliminary assessments have shown that the country requires more than USD$2 billion for various interventions of national response to the crisis. Informal traders at the biggest Mbare Musika also lost their form of livelihood when fire ravaged the entire market on the 8th of October 2024. This all speaks to the level of vulnerability which has significantly increased across the country both in rural and urban setups.
Thus, evaluating the budget allows for insight into how well social welfare programs are funded and whether they are sufficient to provide much-needed relief to the growing number of vulnerable households. The effectiveness of budget allocations in supporting orphans, PWDs, women, the informal sector, and the elderly is a critical measure of the government's commitment to social inclusion and eradicating poverty and hunger. The government through the line ministry responsible for social welfare must allocate adequate resources for the vulnerable and ensure that there is an effective mechanism to identify the beneficiaries.
Conclusion
The state of social service delivery in general remains a cause for concern and a potential threat to the country’s development aspirations of becoming an upper middle-income economy by 2030. The utilization of public resources earmarked for health and education does not reflect sincerity on the part of the government with respect to effective service delivery. Nonetheless, there is great room for improvement. While budget allocation increases in education, health, and social welfare are essential for fostering development, equitable and timely disbursement and efficient use of funds are equally important. As the budget season begins, it is an opportune time for the government to ensure sufficient allocation of resources particularly to health and education sectors to address the pressing service delivery gaps.
Lynnete Tatenda Hlatywayo is a socio economic and gender justice activist currently working with the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development. She holds a Bachelor of Applied Arts Degree in English Literature and Portuguese and a Master of Science in Public Policy and Governance both from the University of Zimbabwe. She is also a 2022 Mandela Washington Fellow under the Civic Engagement Track. Her main area of interest focuses on inclusion of women and young girls particularly from marginalized communities in policy making processes so that they are in a position to influence the enactment of pro poor and gender sensitive policies and challenge all forms of socio-economic injustices that impede them from leading decent and prosperous lives.