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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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Standards for Providing Quality R Palliative Care Across Africa

African Palliative Care Association APCA (2011) C2

The African Palliative Care Association is pleased to publish the first edition of Palliative Care Standards for Africa. The development of these standards was achieved through wide consultation with service beneficiaries and providers, and they have been developed to suit different levels of ... more

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Guidelines on hand hygiene in community settings

UN Childrens Fund UNICEF; World Health Organization WHO (2025) C_WHO

On Global Handwashing Day, WHO and UNICEF have released the first-ever global Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Community Settings to support governments and practitioners in promoting effective hand hygiene outside health care – across households, public spaces and institutions. Framing hand hygiene ... more

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Regional Plan of Action for Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness in East Africa and Indian Ocean Islands - Emergency Plan of Action (EPoA) operation n° MDR64007

International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies (2015)

Situation analysis Description of the disaster An Ebola epidemic that started in March 2014 in Guinea has relentlessly continued to claim lives and to spread to other countries in West Africa. The current Ebola outbreak is the largest in history and the first to affect multiple countries simu... more

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Averting risks to the food chain

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS FAO (2019) C2

As the number of transboundary pest and animal and foodborne disease outbreaks rises, so does the number of people who are chronically hungry due to these and other factors. The correlation can be explained by the link between our health and that of the planet. We rely on land and sea for the produc... more

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Planification familiale: manuel à l'intention des prestataires de services du monde entier

OMS, École de Santé Publique Johns Hopkins Bloomberg (2011) C_WHO

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KENYA Service Provision Assessment Survey 2010 - Key Findings

National Coordinating Agency for Population and Development , Ministry of Medical Services, Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation USAID, UNICEF, UNFPA (2011) C2

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App for its Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public HealthCenter for Communication Programs and World Health Organization (2022) C_WHO

Recommendations on the initiation and continuing use of nine common types of contraceptive methods are covered by the tool. In addition to looking at individual medical conditions or characteristics, users may also easily combine multiple conditions or characteristics and view the guidance on each c... more

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Malawi 2015-16 Demographic and Health Survey - Reproductive Health Fact Sheet

Demography and Social Statistics Division National Statistical Office, The DHS Program (2017) C2

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View PDF (2012)

Rapid assessment of Ebola impact on reproductive health services and service seeking behaviour in Sierra Leone

Government of Sierra Leone, Department for International Development, UN Population Fund, Irish Aid (2015)

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Psychosocial Interventions. A handbook
recommended

International Federation Reference Centre for Psychosocial Support International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (2009) C2

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Zimbabwe DHS 2015 - Infographic (English)

(2016) C2

FAST FACTS FROM THE 2015 ZIMBABWE DHS

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Understanding Unmet Need in Ghana: Results from a Follow-up Study to the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey

Staveteig, S. DHS Program; USAID (2015) C1

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Actions Essentielles en Nutrition

Tina Sanghvi, Roger Shrimpton, and Bruno de Benoist BASICS; UNICEF; Organisation Mondiale de la Sante (2004)

Guide pour les responsables des activités de santé

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Stratégies de programmation pour la planification familiale du post-partum

World Health Organization (2014)

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Planification Familiale

The Lancet (2012) CC

Les programmes de planification familiale sont une solution gagnant-gagnant ; le bien-être de chaque femme et des enfants est amélioré, et l'économie nationale et l'environnement en tirentles bénéfices