the aid library

LIST OPTIONS

Filter

12575

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

External Link

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

External Link

Evolution and effectiveness of bilateral and multilateral development assistance for health: a mixed-methods review of trends and strategic shifts (1990–2022)

Xie S., Du S., Huang Y., et al. BMJ Global Health (2025) CC

Development assistance for health (DAH) plays a vital role in supporting health programmes in lowand middle-income countries. While DAH has historically focused on infectious diseases and maternal and child health, there is a lack of comprehensive analysis of DAH trends, strategic shifts and the... more

Download (35)

View PDF (22)

The cost of austerity: The toll of IMF conditionalities on access to health in Zambia

Make Way, Wemos (2024) CC

Zambia is facing a severe economic crisis marked by high inflation, increasing poverty and a heavy debt burden that is straining both its fiscal stability and progress in health outcomes. By 2020, the country's external debt reached United States dollars (USD) 12.7 billion, representing 108% of the ... more

Download (48)

View PDF (30)

Health for All – transforming economies to deliver what matters: Final report of the WHO Council on the Economics of Health for All

World Health Organization (WHO) (2023) CC

The Council was established in late 2020 by Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (Director-General, WHO) to provide new economic thinking – reassessing how health and wellbeing are valued, produced and distributed across the economy. An all-female group of 10 distinguished economists and area experts, t... more

Download (42)

View PDF (21)

PEPFAR: Exploring Co-Financing as a Tool for Domestic Resource Mobilization

Kates J. Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) (2024) CC

There is growing pressure on PEPFAR, the U.S. global HIV program, to increase its planning for sustainability, including through domestic resource mobilization and, ultimately, transitioning financing at least in part to recipient countries. While this is connected to a broader push in global healt... more

Download (60)

View PDF (33)

Health Taxes: A Compelling Policy for the Crises of Today

The Task Force on Fiscal Policy for Health Report 2024 Bloomberg (2024) CC

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... more

Download (46)

View PDF (31)

Financing the Pandemic Cycle: Prevention, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery and Reconstruction

Fan V. Y., Kim S., Pineda D., et al. Center for Global Development (2024) CC

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed critical gaps in the global response to health crises, particularly in the financing of pandemic prevention, preparedness, response, recovery, and reconstruction. This chapter presents a comprehensive framework for pandemic financing that spans the entire pandemic cycle... more

Download (47)

View PDF (25)

A healthy return: Investment case for a sustainably financed WHO

World Health Organization (WHO) (2022) CC

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.

Download (52)

View PDF (24)

The Evolution of the ODA Accounting Rules

Casadevall-Bellés S., Calleja R. Center for Global Development (2024) CC

Frequent efforts to revise the official development assistance (ODA) accounting rules have raised important questions about the integrity and relevance of what currently “counts” as ODA spending. In this note, we outline a brief history of the evolution of the ODA accounting rules to date, highl... more

Download (106)

View PDF (452)

Tackling malaria in countries hardest hit by the disease: ministerial conference report, Yaoundé, Cameroon, 6 March 2024

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2024) C_WHO

The Malaria Ministerial Conference, co-hosted by WHO and the Government of Cameroon on 6 March 2024, brought together more than 400 stakeholders, including Ministers of Health and senior representatives from the African countries hardest hit by malaria, global health leaders, scientists, civil socie... more

Download (23)

View PDF (24)

Directrices de la OMS sobre la malaria

Organisation Mondiale de la Santé (OMS) (2022) C_WHO

El documento "Directrices de la OMS sobre la malaria", publicado por la Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS) en 2022, presenta las recomendaciones oficiales y actualizadas de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) sobre la prevención, el diagnóstico, el tratamiento y la eliminación de... more

Download (921)

View PDF (4063)

Where women have no doctor

A. August Burns, Ronnie Lovich, Jane Maxwell, Katharine Shapiro Hesperian Health Guides (2020) CC

An essential resource that helps a community understand, treat, and prevent many health problems that affect women. Topics include reproductive health, violence, mental health, HIV, and more.

External Link

One Health Joint Plan of Action (2022-2026)

World Organisation for Animal Health Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; United Nations Enviroment Programme; Wolrd Health Organization; World Organisation for Animal Health (2022) C_WHO

The desired impact of the OH JPA is a world better able to prevent, predict, detect and respond to health threats and improve the health of humans, animals, plants and the environment while contributing to sustainable development. The OH JPA aims to work towards this vision in the following way: ... more

Download (261)

View PDF (243)

Humanitarian Action for Children 2022 - Syrian refugees

UN Children's Fund UNICEF (2021) C_UNICEF

Download (177)

View PDF (173)

Trends and determinants of newborn mortality in Kyrgyzstan: a Countdown country case study

Kamali, M.; J. E Wright, N. Aksee, et al. (2020) CC

Lancet Glob Health 2020Published OnlineDecember 10, 2020 https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30460-5

Download (167)

View PDF (243)

Factsheet The fYR of Macedonia

T. Abdullaev; P. Đurić; B. Konstantinov; C. Hamelmann UNDP (2016) C2

NGO Social Contracting Sustainable Financing of National HIV Responses

Download (534)

View PDF (515)

Considérations essentielles pour l’adoption de techniques de dépistage du vih sur le lieu de soins au sein des systèmes nationaux de santé

Fonds des Nations Unies pour l’enfance (UNICEF) (2018)

À l’heure où des techniques innovantes de dépistage sur le lieu de soins (POC) sont mises sur le marché, le présent rapport soumet à l’attention des gouvernements un examen des principaux aspects relatifs à leur introduction et à leur extension au sein des programmes publics nationaux. L... more

Download (231)

View PDF (223)

A People’s Vaccine for Refugees: Ensuring access to COVID-19 vaccines for refugees and other displaced people

Oxfam (2021) C1

For most people in displacement contexts, there are simply not enough vaccines available in the places where they are hosted: 85% of refugees are hosted in lower- and middle-income countries, while in the first six months of this year 85% of vaccines went to wealthy countries; lower- and middle inco... more

Download (242)

View PDF (322)

One health joint plan of action (‎2022‒2026)‎: working together for the health of humans, animals, plants and the environment
recommended

World Health Organization WHO (2022) C_WHO

The Quadripartite Organizations – the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, founded as OIE), and the World Health Organization (WHO) – collaborate to drive the change and tra... more

One health joint plan of action (‎2022‒2026)‎: working together for the health of humans, animals, plants and the environment recommended

One health joint plan of action (‎2022‒2026)‎: working together for the health of humans, animals, plants and the environment
recommended