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Africa’s Health Financing in a New Era

Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) (2025) CC

Africa’s health sector is facing an unprecedented financing crisis, driven by a sharp decline of 70% in Official Development Assistance (ODA) from 2021 to 2025 and deep-rooted structural vulnerabilities. This collapse is placing immense pressure on Africa’s already fragile health systems as ODA ...is seen as the backbone of critical health programs: pandemic preparedness, maternal and child health services, disease control programs are all at risk, threatening Sustainable Development Goal 3 and Universal Health Coverage. Compounding this is Africa’s spiraling debt, with countries expected to service USD 81 billion by 2025—surpassing anticipated external financing inflows—further eroding fiscal space for health investments. Level of domestic resources is low. TThe Abuja Declaration of 2001, a pivotal commitment made by African Union (AU) member states, aimed to reverse this trend by pledging to allocate at least 15% of national budgets to the health sector. However, more than two decades later, only three countries—Rwanda, Botswana, and Cabo Verde—have consistently met or exceeded this target (WHO, 2023). In contrast, over 30 AU member states remain well below the 10% benchmark, with some allocating as little as 5–7% of their national budgets to health. In addition, only 16 (29%) of African countries currently have updated versions of National Health Development Plan (NHDP) supported by a National Health Financing Plan (NHFP). These two documents play a critical role in driving internal resource mobilisation. At the same time, public health emergencies are surging, rising 41%—from 152 in 2022 to 213 in 2024—exposing severe under-resourcing of health infrastructure and workforce. Recurring outbreaks (Mpox, Ebola, cholera, measles, Marburg…) alongside effects of climate change and humanitarian crises in Eastern DRC, the Sahel, and Sudan, are overwhelming systems stretched by chronic underfunding. The situation is worsened by Africa’s heavy dependency with over 90% of vaccines, medicines, and diagnostics being externally sourced—leaving countries vulnerable to global supply chain shocks. Health worker shortages persist, with only 2.3 professionals per 1,000 people (below the WHO’s recommended 4.45), and fewer than 30% of systems are digitized, undermining disease surveillance and early warning. Without decisive action, Africa CDC projects the continent could reverse two decades of health progress, face 2 to 4 million additional preventable deaths annually, and a heightened risk of a pandemic emerging from within. Furthermore, 39 million more Africans could be pushed into poverty by 2030 due to intertwined health and economic shocks. This is not just a sectoral crisis—it is an existential threat to Africa’s political, social, and economic resilience, and global stability. In response, African leaders, under Africa CDC’s stewardship, are advancing a comprehensive three-pillar strategy centered on domestic resource mobilization, innovative financing, and blended finance. more

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The nature and contribution of innovative health financing mechanisms in the World Health Organization African region: A scoping review

Nabyonga-Orem J., Christmals C.D., Addai K.F. et al. Journal of Global Health (2023) CC

Achieving financial risk protection for the whole population requires significant financing for health. Health systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) are plagued with persistent underfunding, and recent reductions in official development assistance have been registered. To create fiscal ... more

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Financing pandemic prevention, preparedness and response: lessons learned and perspectives for future

Ndembi N., Dereje N., Nonvignon J., et al. Globalization and Health (2024) CC

The attainment of global health security goals and universal health coverage will remain a mirage unless African health systems are adequately funded to improve resilience to public health emergencies. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the global inequity in accessing medical countermeasures, leaving Af... more

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The Colposcopic Atlas of Schistosomiasis in the Lower Female Genital Tract Based on Studies in Malawi, Zimbabwe, Madagascar and South Africa

Hanne M. Norseth1,2, Patricia D. Ndhlovu3, Elisabeth Kleppa, et al. (2014) CC

Plos Neglected Tropical Diseases 8(11): e3229 (20 November 2014)

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Clinical Care Severe Acute Respiratory Infection

World Health Organization WHO (2020) C_WHO

It is intended for clinicians who are working in intensive care units (ICUs) in low and middle-income countries and managing adult and pediatric patients with severe forms of acute respiratory infection (SARI), including severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), sepsis and septic... more

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Cholera: Introduction Arabic الكوليرا: مقدمة
recommended

World Health Organization WHO (2019) C_WHO

الكوليرا هي عدوى إسهالية حادة تنتج عن تناول طعام أو ماء ملوث. توفر هذه الدورة مقدمة عامة عن الكوليرا وتستهدف الأفراد المسئولين عن الاستجابة لفاشيات المرض في حالات ا�... more

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Борьба против табака и цели в области устойчивого развития

World Health Organization World Health Organization (2019) C_WHO

Сокращение потребления табака играет важную роль в глобальных усилиях по выполнению задачи ЦУР по сокращению преждевременной смертности от неинфекционных забол�... more

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Mental Health Promotion. Case Studies from Countries

Shekhar Saxena and Preston J. Garri World Federation for Mental Health; World Health Organization WHO (2004) C_WHO

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The Current State of CHW Training Programs in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia: What We Know, What We Don’t Know, and What We Need to Do

C. Redick; H. S. Faich Dini; L.-A. Long One Million Community Worker Campaign; mPowering Frontline Health Workers (2014) C2

July 2014 This report was made possible through support provided by the One Million Community Health Workers Campaign, mPowering Frontline Health Workers, Intel, and USAID. This report was authored by Cindil Redick for mPowering Frontline Health Workers under the terms of Contract No. GHS-A-00-08... more

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Guidance on developing a national deployment and vaccination Planning for COVID-19 vaccines (arabic Version)

World Health Organization WHO (2020) C_WHO

The Guidance on National Deployment and Vaccination Planning is intended to help countries develop their plan for COVID-19 vaccine introduction.

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Human and dog rabies prevention and control

World Health Organization WHO; Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (2009) C_WHO

Report of the WHO/Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Consultation. The Consultation was organized back-to-back with the first annual meeting of the International Coordinating Group of the BMGF-funded project for human and dog rabies elimination in developing countries, held at WHO headquarters, Geneva,... more

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Overview of rabies post-exposure prophylaxis access, procurement and distribution in selected countries in Asia and Africa, 2017–2018

Sreenivasan, N.; Li, A.; Shiferaw, M. et al. Science Direct (2019) CC

Rabies is a neglected zoonotic disease with a global burden of approximately 59,000 human deaths a year. Once clinical symptoms appear, rabies is almost invariably fatal; however, with timely and appropriate post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) consisting of wound washing, vaccine, and in some cases rabi... more

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A comprehensive review of cystic fibrosis in Africa and Asia

Abubakar, B.K.; Ahmad, U., Chau, D.M. et al. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences (2023) CC

Cystic ﬁbrosis (CF) was earlier thought to be a disease prevalent in the West among Caucasians. However, quite a number of recent studies have uncovered CF cases outside of this region, and reported hundreds of unique and novel variant forms of CFTR. Here, we discuss the evidence of CF in parts of... more

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UNHCR MENA COVID-19 Emergency Response Update #11 (5 August 2020)

UN High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR (2020) CC

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Vaccines (shots) are one of the tools we have to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC (2021) C_CDC

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Status Report July - December 2014: Progress against the Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan 2013-2018

World Health Organization, Global Polio Eradication Initiative (2015) C1

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COVID-19 vaccine-specific resources

Open WHO; World Health Organization WHO (2022) C_WHO

Health workers involved in deployment and implementation of COVID-19 vaccination require vaccine-specific knowledge to ensure safe and efficient vaccine delivery. This training provides key information about COVID-19 vaccines through short instructional videos, vaccine explainers, job aids, topic br... more

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Africa’s digital solutions to tackle COVID-19

European Investment Bank EIB and UN Development Programme UNDP (2020) CC

It highlights how proven digital innovation can be replicated to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Africa. It also estimates investment required to implement such high impact solutions.

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Community-based health care, including outreach and campaigns,in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Arabic Version
recommended

World Health Organization WHO, IFRC; UNICEF (2020) C_WHO

ت، ّالرعاية الصحية المجتمعية، بما يتضم."19كوفيد-′′في سياق جائح

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Fair allocation mechanism for COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX Facility (Arabic Version)

World Health Organization WHO (2020) C_WHO

9 September 2020 In a snapshot, fair allocation of vaccines will occur in the following way: An initial proportional allocation of doses to countries until all countries reach enough quantities to cover 20% of their population This document is also available in Arabic | Chinese | French | R... more

Cholera: Introduction Arabic الكوليرا: مقدمة recommended

Community-based health care, including outreach and campaigns,in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Arabic Version recommended

Cholera: Introduction Arabic الكوليرا: مقدمة
recommended

Community-based health care, including outreach and campaigns,in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Arabic Version
recommended