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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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Advancing gender equality and climate action: A practical guide to setting targets and monitoring progress

Climate & Development Knowledge Network (2022) C1

Women have less access to the development services and support – such as adequate healthcare, education and modern technology – that make people more resilient to climate change and other shocks and stressors.2 Women’s unequal access to resources, their disproportionate responsibility for ca... more

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Humanitarian Action for Children: Rwanda

UN Children's Fund UNICEF (2020) C_UNICEF

Rwanda first confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in March 2020. Although the number of cases has been low, health system resources are being redirected to respond and an increasing number of children are affected by the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic, including disruptions... more

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World Heart Federation Roadmap on Atrial Fibrillation – A 2020 Update

Freedman, B.; Hindricks, G.; Banerjee, A. Global Heart (2021) CC

The World Heart Federation (WHF) commenced a Roadmap initiative in 2015 to reduce the global burden of cardiovascular disease and resultant burgeoning of healthcare costs. Roadmaps provide a blueprint for implementation of priority solutions for the principal cardiovascular diseases leading to death... more

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Psychosocial counselling and treatment adherence support for people affected by tuberculosis

The Union (2021) C1

The guide is suitable and can be used for the following audiences: 1. nurses and other trained healthcare workers who can use this manual as a self-study tool and then incorporate its guidance into their practice; 2. governmental and non-governmental employers of lay and professional TB treatment ... more

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COP26 Special Report on Climate Change and Health

World Health Organization WHO (2021) C_WHO

The 10 recommendations in the COP26 Special Report on Climate Change and Health propose a set of priority actions from the global health community to governments and policy makers, calling on them to act with urgency on the current climate and health crises. The recommendations were developed in ... more

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Progressing the Sustainable Development Goals through Health in All Policies: Case studies from around the world

Lin V.; Kickbusch I.; Baer B. World Health Organisation WHO (2021) C_WHO

Health in All Policies (HiAP) is not a new concept. While the term “HiAP” has received much attention since the 1990s, the concept of working across sectors of government for improved population health and wellbeing is much older than that. Over the last few decades the term has been applied t... more

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From emergency response to long-term COVID-19 disease management - Ending the COVID-19 emergency and transitioning from emergency phase to longer-term disease management: Guidance on calibrating the r

World Health Organization WHO (2023) C_WHO

The key actions, activities, and approaches in this document are organized within each of the 5Cs (see Table 1 in the PDF) and those of the Strategic preparedness and response plan (SPRP) pillars as follows: National action plan key activities, prioritized for the current context and the current ... more

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World Health Statistics 2021: monitoring health for the SDGs. A visual summary
recommended

World Health Organization (WHO) (2021) C_WHO

The report presents the latest data on more than 50 health-related Sustainable Development Goal and "triple billion" target indicators. The 2021 edition includes preliminary estimates for global excess deaths attributable to COVID-19 for 2020 and the state of global and regional health trends from 2... more

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Start with Her: UNFPA Strategy for Reproductive, Maternal and Newborn Health and Well-Being 2025–2030

United Nations Population Fund UNFPA (2025) CC

Nearly 800 women die every day from preventable maternal causes, and in 2022 alone, an estimated 2.3 million newborns died. For every maternal death, countless more women endure life-altering injuries, infections, and disabilities related to childbirth. Maternal deaths are concentrated in the poo... more

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MYANMAR/BURMA Breaking Barriers: Advocating Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

McGuin, Rachael; Nang Lao Liang Won (Researcher) Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW) (2016) C1

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Political developments in Myanmar/Burma prompted the Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW) in 2013 to undertake a small-scale scoping study to re-evaluate and refine its advocacy strategies for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and to s... more

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IRC Ethiopia strategic plan 2022-2025

Internationam Water and Sanitation Centre (2023) CC

After introducing Ethiopia's WASH sector challenges and trends, the plan describes IRC Ethiopia's vision and strategy which draws from IRC and Water For People's joint framework - Destination 2030. It then details the organisational changes and business development needed to implement the strategic ... more

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WHO Methodology for Point Prevalence Survey on Antibiotic Use in Hospitals

World Health Organization WHO (2019) C_WHO

Version 1.1. The WHO protocol has been adapted to resource-limited settings and builds on existing methodologies from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the Global PPS project from University of Antwerp, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Med... more

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Cardiovascular diseases in Africa in the twenty-first century: Gaps and priorities going forward

Minja, N.W.; Nakagaayi, D.; Aliku, T. et al. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine (2022) CC

In 2015, the United Nations set important targets to reduce premature cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths by 33% by 2030. Africa disproportionately bears the brunt of CVD burden and has one of the highest risks of dying from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) worldwide. There is currently an epide...miological transition on the continent, where NCDs is projected to outpace communicable diseases within the current decade. Unchecked increases in CVD risk factors have contributed to the growing burden of three major CVDs—hypertension, cardiomyopathies, and atherosclerotic diseasesleading to devastating rates of stroke and heart failure. The highest age standardized disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) due to hypertensive heart disease (HHD) were recorded in Africa. The contributory causes of heart failure are changing—whilst HHD and cardiomyopathies still dominate, ischemic heart disease is rapidly becoming a significant contributor, whilst rheumatic heart disease (RHD) has shown a gradual decline. In a continent where health systems are traditionally geared toward addressing communicable diseases, several gaps exist to adequately meet the growing demand imposed by CVDs. Among these, high-quality research to inform interventions, underfunded health systems with high out-of-pocket costs, limited accessibility and affordability of essential medicines, CVD preventive services, and skill shortages. Overall, the African continent progress toward a third reduction in premature mortality come 2030 is lagging behind. More can be done in the arena of effective policy implementation for risk factor reduction and CVD prevention, increasing health financing and focusing on strengthening primary health care services for prevention and treatment of CVDs, whilst ensuring availability and affordability of quality medicines. Further, investing in systematic country data collection and research outputs will improve the accuracy of the burden of disease data and inform policy adoption on interventions. This review summarizes the current CVD burden, important gaps in cardiovascular medicine in Africa, and further highlights priority areas where efforts could be intensified in the next decade with potential to improve the current rate of progress toward achieving a 33% reduction in CVD mortality. more

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Alcohol Policy in the WHO South-East Asia Region: A Report

World Health Organization (WHO), Regional Office for South-East-Asia (2017) C_WHO

The report aims to help policy-makers and programme managers identify the areas that need attention and to work towards effective implementation and enforcement of policies and legislations. The need for alcohol policy-specific infrastructures to support the alcohol policy process, including designa... more

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South Sudan: Health Cluster strategy 2023-2025

Health Cluster; World Health Organization WHO (2023) CC

South Sudan continues to struggle with a severe health crisis affecting 8.9 million people, primarily in flood- and conflict-affected regions with population movements (displacement and returns), and disease outbreaks. The nation's health system, heavily reliant on international aid, faces staffing ... more

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NCD Alliance Advocacy Priorities - For the 2023 United Nations High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage

NCD Alliance NCD Alliance (2023) CC2

The document is a policy brief by the NCD Alliance for the 2023 United Nations High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage (UHC). It highlights the importance of integrating non-communicable diseases (NCDs) into UHC efforts, with the goal of ensuring equitable health access worldwide.

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Healthier, fairer, safer: the global health journey 2007–2017

Donaldson, Liam World Health Organization (WHO) (2017) C_WHO

The report reflects on the trends, achievements and challenges in global health over the past decade during which Dr Margaret Chan has been Director-General of WHO. It discusses the role of WHO in dealing with such issues as the rise of noncommunicable diseases, leaps in life expectancy, and emergin... more

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Religion and culture

Hordern; J. Elsevier Ltd. (2016) CC

Religion, belief and culture should be recognized as potential sources of moral purpose and personal strength in healthcare, enhancing the welfare of both clinicians and patients. Ethics and communication skills| Volume 44, ISSUE 10, P589-592, October 01, 2016

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A triple dividend: The health, social and economic gains from financing the HIV response in Africa

Cook, R.; S. Jain; S. Aleyan; et al. Economist Impact (2023) CC

This report presents findings from research conducted by Economist Impact to assess the health, demographic, social and economic impacts associated with different scenarios for financing the HIV epidemic across 13 selected countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The sponsorship of UNAIDS towards this repor... more

World Health Statistics 2021: monitoring health for the SDGs. A visual summary recommended

World Health Statistics 2021: monitoring health for the SDGs. A visual summary
recommended