Taxes & Tariffs

Import taxes and tariffs (T&T) cause delays and impede the delivery of bed nets, drugs and other life-saving malaria control commodities. In some sub-Saharan African countries, T&T can run as high as 20 percent of an item’s cost. While many malarial countries have few options when it comes to raising government revenue domestically, AFM believes that tariffs and taxes on essential medical supplies is regressive and pernicious, harming the poor particularly harshly. We would call on the World Bank to assist countries in finding alternative ways to raise funds so that the state-imposed barriers to accessing healthcare are removed.