Africa’s prime public well being establishment is planning to faucet extra funds from home sources to guard the beneficial properties revamped the previous twenty years in epidemic preparedness and response, following a steep decline in exterior help.
For the reason that decline of Official Growth Help (ODA) to Africa by 70% over the previous few years, one factor has grow to be abundantly clear: there’s a hole in well being funding, placing stress on already fragile well being programs.
Traditionally, ODA has been instrumental in attaining a 50% discount in under-five mortality between 1990 and 2019, increasing routine immunization protection, and supporting HIV/AIDS prevention and remedy packages that now present antiretroviral remedy to over 18 million individuals throughout Africa. It additionally enabled fast responses to main well being crises, such because the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
The contraction in funding coincides with an increase in illness outbreaks. Between 2022 and 2024, the continent witnessed a 40% enhance in reported public well being emergencies. Issues additionally persist concerning the return of viral haemorrhagic fevers corresponding to Ebola and Marburg, whereas local weather shocks — starting from floods to heatwaves — are fueling new well being dangers, typically in areas least geared up to reply.
“We’re additionally going through a lot of points by way of debt servicing and dependence on imported medical countermeasures. Combining these two elements, Africa is going through a significant threat,” mentioned Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director Common of the Africa Centres for Illness Management and Prevention (Africa CDC).
The state of affairs poses a broader problem inside Africa’s well being safety structure, however work is ongoing to reverse the funding uncertainty. Africa CDC has mobilized African Union Member States towards a brand new period of well being funding. Dr. Kaseya proposes a three-pronged technique to reinforce sustainability and scale back reliance on exterior donors, outlined in a brand new paper.
He’s calling on African Union Member States to extend their home funding for public well being. Solely two nations at present meet the Abuja goal of allocating 15% of nationwide budgets to healthcare. Home dedication is crucial to safeguarding well being programs in opposition to the volatility of worldwide funding, he notes. “We have to have a costed strategic plan and a nationwide financing plan. We have to push for extra alignment of exterior assets,” mentioned Dr. Kaseya.
Second, Africa CDC is pursuing new financing fashions. These embrace the Africa Epidemics Fund, whose operational framework was launched in February 2025, as a pooled useful resource for emergency preparedness and fast response. The company can be exploring mechanisms corresponding to an airline tax or regional solidarity levies to supply a extra predictable stream of funding for outbreak administration.
Third, Africa CDC is looking for better collaboration with philanthropic organisations and the non-public sector. The purpose is to draw long-term funding into essential infrastructure, together with native vaccine manufacturing, digital well being programs, and logistics networks. As a part of this effort, Africa CDC is implementing the African Pooled Procurement Mechanism to decrease prices and enhance entry to important well being commodities throughout the continent.
To help the mobilization of home funding and the pursuit of recent financing fashions, Africa CDC is requesting USD 43 million. The fund will allow the profitable execution of the plans to make sure measurable progress towards sustainable well being financing throughout the continent.
“An in depth price range has been developed for every pillar of help, masking technical help for the event of costed nationwide well being plans, the institution of the AU-led monitoring dashboard, implementation of the pilot airline tax, and the design and scaling of progressive and blended financing mechanisms,” says the paper on well being financing.
Galvanising broader help, Dr. Kaseya not too long ago led a high-level diplomatic mission to america, Norway, and Denmark. In Washington, D.C., he and his workforce met with U.S. lawmakers, USAID, the U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention, and main philanthropic establishments, together with the Gates and Rockefeller Foundations. These engagements targeted on reaffirming Africa CDC’s central position in world well being safety and interesting for continued help regardless of ongoing budgetary pressures in donor nations.
“An funding in Africa’s public well being is an funding in world stability,” mentioned Dr. Kaseya throughout his go to to the U.S. “Africa’s progress can’t be reversed by momentary price range constraints in companion nations.”
What could look like a significant setback might, in truth, be a defining alternative, says Dr. Ngashi Ngongo, Principal Advisor to the Director Common and the Continental Incident Supervisor for Mpox.
“Africa CDC is leveraging world funding cuts to champion sustainable well being financing — fueling home funding, unlocking progressive funding streams, and constructing resilient programs for Africa’s future,” says Dr. Ngongo.
In Europe, discussions with authorities and improvement officers in Norway and Denmark highlighted a shared curiosity in strengthening well being programs. Whereas new monetary commitments have but to materialise, each nations signalled sturdy political help for Africa CDC’s long-term targets.
In the course of the journey to Norway, Dr. Kaseya signed a brand new Memorandum of Understanding between the Africa CDC and the Kingdom of Norway targeted on constructing capability, enhancing information for decision-making, and leveraging DHIS2–an open-source software program platform for the gathering, reporting, evaluation, and dissemination of combination and individual-level data–for nationwide and regional illness surveillance.
All through these engagements, Dr. Kaseya emphasised that Africa shouldn’t be looking for charity however partnerships. “We’re asking for solidarity and co-investment,” he mentioned. “What we’re constructing is a firewall that protects not solely Africa however the world.”
Dr. Ngongo provides that it actually does not assist to complain. “We have now to be proactive by way of considering that, if that is the brand new regular — if that’s the path the world is taking — how will we stay slot in that context? What are the changes we have to make on our aspect to show this problem into a possibility for Africa? That is the angle now we have taken: to show what could look like a setback into a possibility. This is the reason we’re shifting forward with a brand new technique — one which prioritises elevated home useful resource mobilisation, explores progressive financing like solidarity levies and sin taxes, and brings in non-public sector funding. We see this not solely as a problem, but in addition as a second to reshape the way forward for well being financing on the continent.”
Africa CDC’s efforts to construct a robust battle chest to fund responses to outbreaks and battle illnesses throughout Africa obtained a lift from two African Heads of State on March 14.
President of Angola, João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, took over the rotating African Union (AU) chairmanship on the opening of the thirty eighth Strange Session of the AU Meeting of Heads of State and Authorities on February 15.
“I strongly commend the outstanding efforts of the Africa CDC in advancing the continent’s public well being agenda, tying it carefully to financial development and job creation, and making certain the protection and well-being of all Africans,” President Lourenço mentioned.
Africa CDC performs a key position in strengthening Africa’s capability to reply successfully and quickly to rising well being threats, he mentioned.
“The basic position that this establishment has performed has set a commendable customary in illness surveillance, prevention, and management, contributing immensely to continental and world well being safety. I reaffirm my dedication to offering steady and sound help to Africa CDC, empowering you to totally discharge its important mandate,” President Lourenço mentioned.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who additionally visited Africa CDC on the identical day, referred to as on AU members to accentuate their collective help in elevating the Africa CDC as a premier public well being establishment. “It’s incumbent upon us to strengthen this establishment in collaboration with companions. I name upon fellow African leaders to hitch efforts in establishing our continental public well being company as a premier establishment, absolutely dedicated to advancing well being throughout the continent,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed mentioned.
