Lending Institutions
Today there is still a huge number of developing nations that require assistance from the outside. Ethiopia is one of them. Being located in Africa, it seems to have the poorest development level, including enormous issues in the sphere of healthcare. However, even though health service delivery is not decently managed, there is a lack of health and workforce financing, and health technologies, the country receives help from the outside that improves the current condition.
Ethiopia is a poor developing country, which lacks the health workforce and requires health service coverage at more than 92% (African Health Observatory, 2014). It is not a part of WTO and is not supported by this organization for now. It proves that Ethiopia is among the least-developed nations, but such an opportunity is negotiated (WTO, 2016). Still, the country cooperates with international lending institutions that provide it with financial support and streamline the development. For example, the IMF helped the economy to adjust to the changes, absorbing price shocks in 2008. It lent $50 million and reduced inflationary pressure (International Monetary Fund, 2016).
The help is also received from the World Bank. In 2012, more than $1 billion credits were approved to improve regional trade. At the same time, $600 million were lent, and $ 415 million were expected to be mobilized further for the improvement in education and health spheres (The World Bank, 2012). Thus, it cannot be denied that Ethiopia is decently supported by international lending institutions. It received funding that provides an opportunity to improve the economic and health situation in the country. Moreover, the political situation improves, as transparency of operations makes the general public sure that its government wishes to help.
Healthy Population and the Economy
The population of Ethiopia has extreme health problems because of infections, malnutrition, and poor hygiene. With the development and urbanization, the country started to receive help from the WHO. As a result, the situation improved slowly, and the mortality rate reduced (WHO, 2014). As a result, the workforce of the country increased, which means that more business operations can be maintained in the future.
A healthy population presupposes decent access to healthcare services and the financial sustainability of health systems. Of course, Ethiopia is not ready to show such results, but they are likely to improve macroeconomic performance. In this way, the value of money is encouraged.
Ethiopia does not have a healthy population as it lacks medical personnel and medicines. If the nation could afford them, it would have an opportunity to allocate foreign financial aid to other sectors and streamline its economic development greatly.
For now, Ethiopia receives help from “Austria, Japan, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, France, EU, DFID and the USA” (WHO, 2014, p. 1). Still, this money is mainly spent on the healthcare sector. Having a healthy population, it will use the funds for the business. As the countries already cooperate, they are likely to work together in the future also. It means that when Ethiopia receives a more stable position and becomes able to expand its business sphere, it will have an opportunity to conclude trade agreements. In this way, economic growth will be improved.
Foreign Aid
The government does its best to enhance the situation in the country. It started to put emphasis on innovative interventions, and new programs were implemented to change health conditions and reach Millennium Development Goal 5. The government constantly improves health policies and systems; it contributes 15% of the health sector expenditures. By its lead, foreign financial support is mainly allocated to this sector, and almost 50% of spending is covered (WHO, 2014).
WHO Country Office Ethiopia operates under the leadership of the country. It is mainly focused on the health sector development. It helped Ethiopia to sign a national IHP compact with several countries, which allowed to enhance the quality of water and prevent diseases. The Joint Financial Arrangement was also signed, and incoming of funds streamlined. With the Health Pool Fund, the amount of technical assistance increased greatly, as 10% of all financial aid was devoted to the improvement of the healthcare system.
Protecting the Basic Services basket fund provided more education opportunities for the population and 4% of funding to the health sector. The United Nations Development Assistance Framework for Ethiopia designs strategic plans for the country to enhance its performance and increase the quality of life (WHO, 2014).
The money received from the IMF was used to buy fuel, fertilizer, and cereals, which allowed the population to have enough food (International Monetary Fund, 2016). The funds provided by the World Bank allowed hiring thousands of primary school teachers, health, and agricultural extension workers (The World Bank, 2012).
Thus, it can be seen that the government does its best to receive more financial aid from foreign countries. It promotes cooperation with international organizations and allocates money to the health sector. As a result, the population gets better access to healthcare services, and the mortality rate reduces. More people received an opportunity to get a decently-paid job and provide Ethiopians with new education opportunities, which proves that children will also know how to keep fit and healthy. Finally, the government ensures access to the required products and prevents malnutrition.
References
African Health Observatory. (2014). Analytical summary – Health system outcomes. Web.
International Monetary Fund. (2016). The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the IMF. Web.
The World Bank. (2012). Ethiopia: World Bank approves new funding to improve delivery of education, health and other services for 84 million people. Web.
WTO. (2016). Ethiopia. Web.
WHO. (2014). Country cooperation strategy. Web.