African leaders call for fiscal reforms to boost health financing

At the 76th session of the World Health Organization Regional Committee for Africa, leaders and officials called for a fundamental shift in how the continent finances its public health systems to reduce dependence on external aid.

Aboubakri Diaw of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) advocated for a fiscal pact between finance and health ministries. He noted that many African nations currently spend more on debt servicing than on public health, with governments covering an average of less than 41% of total health expenditure. This reliance on out-of-pocket spending pushes more than 150 million people into poverty annually.

Kenya’s Health Cabinet Secretary, Aden Duale, emphasized the need for health self-reliance through increased domestic resource mobilization, digital transformation, and local pharmaceutical manufacturing. Duale highlighted Kenya’s Taifa Care programme, which has enrolled over 32 million people, and encouraged the ratification of the treaty establishing the African Medicines Agency to strengthen continental regulatory frameworks and predictable demand for local medicines.