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.
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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
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space for health, the pursuit of efficiency gains and exploring innovative health financing for health seem attractive. This paper sought to synthesize available evidence on the nature of innovative health financing instruments, mechanisms and policies implemented in Africa. We further reviewed the factors that hinder or facilitate implementation, the lessons learnt on the structure, the development process and the implementation.
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This comprehensive HPFM report thoroughly explores Kenya’s health financing landscape. It provides an in-depth analysis of the current state of affairs and sheds light on required strategic changes in health financing. The report points out the need to improve public financial management within th...e health sector, for more efficient financial systems. It focuses on better resourceraising and utilization mechanisms. The matrix highlights the need for consolidation of fragmented health financing arrangements, for a more efficient health system. It also emphasizes the need for enhancing strategic purchasing of health services, to improve the overall efficiency and quality of care. Additionally, the report stresses the critical
role of leveraging data and information systems for more evidence-based informed decision-making. These recommendations are crucial for advancing Kenya’s health financing system and moving closer to the UHC goal.
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For this report, the Task Force commissioned
additional background papers on health taxes to
update the evidence, assess short-term revenue
potential, and understand the role of health taxes
in the current era of multiple crises. We find that
health taxes continue to be underutilized despite th...e
powerful impact they have in reducing preventable
death and disease — a particularly glaring act of
neglect in a world that has experienced a massive
pandemic.
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There has never been a more critical moment to invest in WHO, and strengthen the unique role it plays in global health. Now is the time to sustainably finance WHO and invest in a healthy return for all.
The guidelines are primarily intended for health-care professionals working in first- or second-level health-care facilities, including emergency, inpatient and outpatient services. They are also directed at policy-makers, health-care planners and programme managers, academic institutions, non-gover...nmental and civil society organizations to inform capacity-building, teaching and research agendas.
Web annex A provides the quantitative evidence reports, Web annex B summarizes the qualitative and economic evidence and Web annex C presents the Evidence-to-Decision frameworks.
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The guidelines are primarily intended for health-care professionals working in first- or second-level health-care facilities, including emergency, inpatient and outpatient services. They are also directed at policy-makers, health-care planners and programme managers, academic institutions, non-gover...nmental and civil society organizations to inform capacity-building, teaching and research agendas.
Web annex A provides the quantitative evidence reports, Web annex B summarizes the qualitative and economic evidence and Web annex C presents the Evidence-to-Decision frameworks.
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ith a view to support the monitoring and reporting on the denial of humanitarian access against children, the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict and UNICEF publish today* a guidance note offering new tools to practitioners to better address ...this violation of children's rights in conflict situations. The Denial of Humanitarian Access (DHA) is one of six grave violations against children monitored by the United Nations in the framework of its Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC
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The purpose of this guide is to provide updated clinical guidance on TB/HIV, with an emphasis on diagnostic aspects—including new techniques—as well as current treatment, while maintaining a public health approach. By compiling and consolidating the latest World Health Organization recommendatio...ns on the subject into a single guide, the aim is to create a reference and consultation document that is frequently used, and that unifies and standardizes the comprehensive management of TB/HIV co-infection in healthcare facilities based on the principle of “two diseases, one patient.” It also seeks to support the updating of national standards and guidelines on co-infection and to complement the coordinated work that must exist between TB and HIV prevention and control programs at all levels, within the framework of the twelve internationally recommended TB/HIV collaborative activities.
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The "Integrated Management of Malaria Training – Health Worker’s Manual" is a practical guide developed by Uganda’s Ministry of Health to train healthcare workers at all levels in the effective diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and management of malaria. It aligns with national malaria treatme...nt guidelines and aims to improve the quality of care and reduce malaria-related illness and death. The manual covers key topics such as clinical assessment of fever, use of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), case management of uncomplicated and severe malaria, malaria in pregnancy, co-infections like HIV, as well as community engagement and proper documentation. It includes structured training sessions, case studies, and job aids designed to strengthen the skills of health workers in both public and private sectors, and to ensure standardized, evidence-based malaria care across the country.
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Implementation reference guide. This Malaria Surveillance Assessment Toolkit implementation reference guide is a comprehensive reference document, as well as a step by-step guide. It aligns and adapts available tools into a single set of standardized tools, which can be used to conduct malaria surve...illance assessments across all transmission settings. Use of these standardized tools allows comparison of results between countries and within the same country over time, enabling countries to track their progress towards surveillance system strengthening.
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Anopheles stephensi is an invasive mosquito species which has been found spreading across Africa. While this species presents a new challenge for malaria control on the continent, its surveillance and management have been ongoing in Asia for many years. This document aims to summarize key lessons fr...om 3 countries – India, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Sri Lanka – that have been working to control An. stephensi. It is hoped that their experiences and insights will be valuable for countries encountering An. stephensi for the first time.
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Preferred product characteristics and clinical development considerations
The purpose of the guideline is to provide information to stakeholders on the necessary requirements for a complete prequalification dossier for insecticide-treated nets (ITNs). Its aim is to establish the baseline for dossier requirements which are necessary to assess ITN products for the purposes ...of prequalification, describe the data requirements for fulfilling each dossier module, and to provide standardized information for applicants and testing facilities generating data for ITN prequalification dossiers. The document is supported by implementation guidance documents which provide specific information and considerations for how applicants may approach the generation of supporting information and compilation of a complete product dossier.
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Thematic brief. This brief highlights the link between climate change and VBDs in Asia Pacific. Using malaria to tell the narrative, it lists key actions that policymakers and the public health community can consider in addressing the impact of a changing climate on health. The brief also includes ...a list of resources that countries can benefit from in planning their response.
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The guide summarizes an assessment of War Child Canada’s three-pronged legal protection model as implemented with South Sudanese refugees in Northern Uganda and uses it to identify the most important lessons for ensuring legal protection mechanisms are in place at the onset of an emergency