Health advocates in Africa brought together by Africa free of New HIV infections (AfNHi) in collaboration with the African Civil Society Platform for Health (CISPHA) and the Global Fund Advocates Network (GFAN – Africa) met on the 8th February 2019 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Participants discussed funding health research and development, domestic resources for health and the 6th replenishment of the Global Fund.
This civil society meeting was on the side lines of the first-ever platform Africa Leadership Meeting on Investing in Health held to discuss resources for health to accelerate universal healthcare coverage. Only 2 out of the 55 AU member states have dedicated the recommended government budget, at least 15%, to health. This, according to the Africa Scorecard on Domestic Financing for Health (2018) fails to meet the suggested threshold of $86.30 per person required to provide a basic package of health services. In the 2008 ‘Bamako Declaration’, 26 African countries made commitments to allocate at least 2% of their ministry of health budget to research – a commitment which has not been realized.
The health advocates noted that the greatest driver of the Africa’s economies is human capital. Financing health will boost productivity, save money and lead to economic growth. While remarkable developments have been made in global health, many people in Africa still die each day from preventable diseases such as HIV, TB and malaria. At the meeting, the health advocates pledged to continue playing their role through constructive engagement with all stakeholders Read More Here as well as ensure accountability on how health is governed and delivered in Africa.
Increasing domestic resources for health is key to achieving SDG 3 on the health and wellbeing of all and to achieve the 10 year action plan of the Africa Union Commission’s Agenda 2063. Healthy nations are indeed prosperous nations.