The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) policies have restricted the Kenyan government’s financial fight against AIDS, according to a study by the Centre for Economic Governance and AIDS in Africa, reports Daily Report.

IMF’s demands for lower health budgets have left Kenya dependent on private funding for HIV/AIDS–related causes including care for those living with the virus as well as other illnesses.

“Policies such as cost sharing in health facilities are not applicable in a country like ours, in which people die from simple controllable diseases such as cholera,” said Billow Kerrow, a former Mandera Central MP.

Twenty-three percent of Kenya’s sick don’t access health care because of government charges for services.

“Our people will continue dying unless we get our priorities right,” Kerrow said. “Why does IMF put a budgetary ceiling on health and education and not on military?”  

The IMF comprises 186 countries that work together to foster financial stability and reduce poverty around the world.