Unprecedented crisis in Africa healthcare: report

NAIROBI: Africa’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Thursday that the continent faces “an unprecedented financing crisis” that could lead to between two to four million additional deaths annually.

Members of the African Union pledged in 2001 to allocate at least 15 percent of national budgets to health, but only three countries -- Rwanda, Botswana and Cabo Verde -- have consistently met or exceeded the target, the CDC said in a new report.

The continent faces a multi-pronged crisis, with many countries struggling under massive amounts of debt and now facing huge cuts to aid from the United States and other Western countries.

It also comes as public health emergencies are surging -- rising from 152 in 2022 to 213 in 2024, according to the CDC -- as outbreaks of Mpox, Ebola, cholera and other diseases are reported.

“Without decisive action, Africa CDC projects the continent could reverse two decades of health progress, face two to four million additional preventable deaths annually, and a heightened risk of a pandemic emerging from within,” it said.

“Furthermore, 39 million more Africans could be pushed into poverty by 2030 due to intertwined health and economic shocks.” The report highlighted Africa’s heavy dependency on foreign assistance, with over 90 percent of vaccines, medicines and diagnostics being externally sourced, leaving countries vulnerable to global supply chain shocks.

“This is not just a sectoral crisis -- it is an existential threat to Africa’s political, social and economic resilience, and global stability,” said the CDC report, titled “Africa’s Health Financing in a New Era”.

It called for a “three-pillar strategy” comprising more domestic financing, “innovative financing” to raise additional cash such as new taxes on airline travel and alcohol, and infrastructure projects funded through a mix of public and private capital. “Ultimately, success depends on political will, regional solidarity, and strong accountability mechanisms,” the report said.