Healthcare: First Lady advocate sustainable funding in Africa
By Celine-Damilola Oyewole
First Lady Oluremi Tinubu has called for sustainable financial allocations and support to promote healthcare services in Africa.
The first lady said this on Friday in Addis Ababa during her presentation at the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the first lady spoke on the topic “Engagement of First Ladies to support sustainable Financing for Health in Africa”.
The AU session is holding between Feb. 12 and Feb. 16.
The first lady said healthcare support was essential to the well-being of the people and the future of the continent.
“Our aspirations for progress, economic growth, and social stability remain unattainable without a robust healthcare system.
“In spite of our collective efforts to ensure access to essential healthcare services, millions of Africans still lack quality healthcare, and preventable diseases continue to claim lives.”
Tinubu said that before Africa can achieve sustainable health financing, there was an urgent need for quality health services without imposing financial hardships on individuals or households.
This, according to her, means that sustainable financing goes beyond merely increasing funds for health but to ensure that resources are mobilised, allocated, and utilised efficiently for both short, medium, and long-term impact.
“In 2001, Heads of State met in Abuja to declare an intention to increase budgetary allocation to Health services to 15 per cent annually, more than 20 years after this declaration, many countries still struggle to fulfil this commitment.”
She urged Africa to stop relying solely on donor funding and foreign aids, due to its unpredictable and unsustainable nature.
“Instead, we must develop innovative financing strategies tailored to our unique challenges and circumstances.
“Given the increasing funding gap for health on the continent, I urge us all to commit to advocating for increased national health budgets in line with the Abuja Declaration. Our governments should allocate at least 15 per cent of their budgetary allocations to health.
“We must also support innovative financing mechanisms and explore sustainable models, such as expanding health insurance coverage, health endowment funds, and investments from the African diaspora.
“Accountability and transparency must be ensured, as funds allocated to health must be used efficiently and effectively.
“We must continue to work closely with all levels of government, the private sector, civil society and development partners to increase financing for health and strengthen our health systems,” Tinubu said.(NAN)
Edited by Ismail Abdulaziz
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