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Seven years ago, the removal of taxes and tariffs on insecticide treated nets (ITNs) was considered one of the easiest resolutions for most countries to implement among the targets agreed upon at the African Summit on Roll Back Malaria in Abuja, Nigeria, on April 25, 2000. However, seven years later, 24 of the 39 Abuja signatories continue to impose taxes and tariffs on this life-saving tool. Taxes and tariffs significantly increase the price of an insecticide treated net, reduce affordability, and discourage the commercial sector from importing insecticide treated net products. Consequently, Roll Back Malaria partners are engaged in advocacy efforts to remove taxes and tariffs on insecticide treated nets in malaria-endemic countries of Africa. This viewpoint summarizes key obstacles to the removal of taxes and tariffs that have been identified through a review of country situations. To achieve the goal of producing and supplying more than 160 million insecticide treated nets needed to reach the revised Roll Back Malaria Partnership targets by 2010, tax and tariff reforms are urgently needed. Such reforms must be accompanied by country-specific systems to protect the poor (e.g., through voucher systems for vulnerable groups and other forms of targeted subsidies).
Received August 15, 2006. Accepted for publication October 8, 2007.
Acknowledgments: We are thankful for the support from our colleagues, especially Ms. Janice Solomon of the National Institutes of Health, and Renata Seidel, Celeste Marin, and Sheila Somashekhar of the Academy for Educational Development who provided critical comments to the manuscript. We also are thankful for the funding from the Academy for Educational Development (AED) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in preparing the manuscript.
Financial Support: The USAID’s Regional Economic Development Services Office for East and Southern Africa (REDSO/ESA) and The USAID’s West Africa Regional Program (WARP) provided funding that enabled the authors to organize the Johannesburg, Nairobi, Accra, Kinshasa, and Bujumbura workshops on taxes and tariffs. These sponsors had no other role in the writing of this manuscript or the decision to submit for publication.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the official position of either Academy for Educational Development (AED) or the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Martin Alilio, Halima Mwenesi, Malick Diara, David McGuire, Roshelle Payes and Will Shaw work for the Academy for Educational Development under the United States Agency for International Development’s NetMark Africa Regional Malaria Program. NetMark is an 8-year project designed to reduce the impact of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa through the increased use and sustainable supply of insecticide treated mosquito nets.
* Address correspondence to Martin Alilio, 1825 Connecticut Ave., Washington, DC 20009. E-mail: malilio{at}smtp.aed.org
Authors’ addresses: Martin Alilio, Halima Mwenesi, Lawrence M. Barat, Roshelle M. Payes, Suzanne Prysor-Jones, Malick Diara, David McGuire, and Willard Shaw, NetMark Research Director and Senior Policy Advisor, Global Health, Population and Nutrition Group, Academy for Educational Development, 1825 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009-5721, Tel: 202-884-8968, Fax: 202-884-8844, E-mail: malilio{at}aed.org
Reprint requests: Martin Alilio, NetMark Research Director and Senior Policy Advisor, Global Health, Population and Nutrition Group, Academy for Educational Development, 1825 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009-5721. Tel: 202-884-8968, Fax: 202-884-8844, E-mail: malilio{at}aed.org.
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