The call will form the centrepiece of a High-Level Interactive Policy Dialogue being convened by the African Renaissance Trust and the Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete Foundation in Accra on Sunday, July 20, on the margins of the African Union (AU) Extraordinary Summit on Health.
The Dialogue, which is an official side event of the AU Extraordinary Summit, is expected to bring together ministers, Regional Economic Communities, continental institutions, private sector leaders, development partners and global health experts to explore practical solutions to Africa’s health financing challenges.
The AU Extraordinary Summit is focused on ending AIDS by 2030, addressing preventable maternal deaths, tackling communicable and non-communicable diseases endemic to the continent and strengthening health systems.
Participants at the policy dialogue would examine ways of strengthening the link between political commitments and financed implementation amid growing concerns over financing gaps in the health sector.
A statement from the organisers to the Ghana News Agency, said the Dialogue comes at a critical period for Africa’s healthcare systems as many countries continued to grapple with declining development assistance, rising debt burdens and increasing demand for quality healthcare services.
It noted that although 25 years had passed since the Abuja Declaration, under which African Union member states committed to allocating at least 15 per cent of national budgets to health, many countries were yet to attain that target.
It noted that Africa continued to bear a disproportionate burden of HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, preventable maternal deaths and non-communicable diseases, making sustainable domestic financing and stronger implementation accountability an urgent priority.
The Dialogue on the theme: “Advancing Africa’s Health Agenda through Domestic Financing, Accountability and Strategic Innovations,” would feature senior representatives from the African Union Commission, the Government of Ghana, the African Medicines Agency, Africa Leaders Malaria Alliance, Africa Business Council, the Gates Foundation, Regional Economic Communities, development partners and civil society organisations.
Discussions would focus on sustainable health financing models, implementation accountability, strategic innovation and policy reforms required to ensure health investments produce measurable outcomes for citizens.
Participants are also expected to deliberate on practical approaches to strengthening pharmaceutical regulation, accelerating the deployment of life-saving innovations, promoting local pharmaceutical manufacturing and mobilising increased public and private sector investments in healthcare.
The Dialogue would further underscore the importance of health investments in driving economic productivity, human capital development and resilience against future health emergencies.
A major highlight of the event would be the unveiling of the African Renaissance Health Financing Insights Dashboard, a continental accountability platform designed to support evidence-based decision-making.
The platform is expected to enable governments to monitor health financing commitments, track implementation progress, identify financing gaps and strengthen coordination between Ministries of Finance and Ministries of Health.
The Dashboard, the statement explained would support African Union policy processes by converting existing data into actionable intelligence to improve investment and implementation decisions.
Outcomes from the Dialogue would feed directly into the deliberations of the AU Extraordinary Summit through a rapporteurial communiqué and policy recommendations aimed at reinforcing domestic financing, accountability and innovation as key pillars of Africa’s health transformation agenda.
The organisers expressed confidence that the engagement would deepen understanding of the relationship between financing commitments, budget allocations and health outcomes, while promoting the effective translation of political commitments into measurable results across the continent.
GNA
