Ms. Tracy Mwalilino, Economist responsible for policy and research at the ECAMA Secretariat today participated in the 5th Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHES) Research Dissemination Seminar. She presented a paper she co-authored with Ms Ernestina Chiona on the topic "Crowding out of health care: The Non-linear Effects of Public Debt on Health". Employing an Error Correction Model, the study found that public debt is associated with increase in health spending in short run but the relationship is negative in the long run. Specifically, the study found that beyond 50.2% of debt as a percentage of GDP, a 10 percentage point increase in debt is associated with a 0.29 percentage points reduction in health spending. The study recommends ways of ensuring that health funds are protected and prioritized. As such it proposes policy makers should explore debt to health swaps as has been done in other countries such as Cameroon. Secondly, the study proposes the establishment of a health fund that earmarks certain taxes such as those on cigarettes and alcohol towards the health sector.