The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has unveiled a comprehensive strategy to transform health financing across the continent, to secure the future of Africa’s health systems amid declining external aid.
Director-general of Africa CDC, Dr. Jean Kaseya announced the strategy in a statement shared with Science Nigeria on Friday. He explained that the launch comes at a critical time, as external health aid to the continent is projected to drop by 70 per cent between 2021 and 2025, creating an urgent need for Africa to strengthen its internal capacity to fund health initiatives.
Kaseya highlighted that Africa has experienced a 41 per cent rise in disease outbreaks between 2022 and 2024, which has overwhelmed already fragile health systems. He stressed that Africa must stop outsourcing its health security, declaring, “This strategy is not about aid, it’s about ownership.”
The new framework prioritises domestic resource mobilisation and urges African governments to honour the Abuja Declaration by allocating at least 15 per cent of their national budgets to health. The strategy also proposes innovative financing approaches, such as introducing solidarity levies on airline tickets and mobile services and tapping into Africa’s $95 billion annual diaspora remittances to support health sector priorities.
Kaseya noted that the strategy will be implemented in two phases. The first, from 2025 to 2026, will focus on updating national health financing plans in 30 countries and piloting new revenue mechanisms. The second phase, spanning 2026 to 2030, aims for at least 20 countries to fund over half of their health budgets through sustainable domestic sources.
To promote transparency and accountability, Africa CDC will introduce an African Health Financing Scorecard to monitor progress and improve spending efficiency. Kaseya described the initiative as a pivotal step towards Africa’s health independence and a roadmap for building a healthier, self-reliant continent.
