the aid library

LIST OPTIONS

Filter

9785

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

Download (297)

View PDF (371)

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: The foundation for building resilience in climate‑vulnerable communities

Omasete J., Forster J., Geere J., et al. Water Aid (2022) CC

This report, which involved input from across WaterAid, in particular from the Programme Support Unit (PSU) of WaterAid UK, includes case studies from a variety of countries, including Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, India and Nepal, each demonstrating what must be done now to i... more

Download (1270)

View PDF (1591)

Sharing Smart Solutions in Water

Diego J. Rodriguez, Matthijs Schuring, Nansia Constantinou et al. The World Bank; Water Partnership Program (2013) C1

Water security, or having the right amount and quality of water in the right place at the right time, fosters social and economic progress. Where water is sufficient to meet demand, it can promote economy wide growth and enable countries to reach their food security, energy security, and human devel... more

Download (182)

View PDF (172)

Polio Vaccine Security Framework

Global Polio Eradication Initiative GPEI (2025) CC

Long-term polio vaccine security – the timely, sustained, and uninterrupted supply of suitable types of affordable, quality-assured polio vaccines – is essential in the global effort to achieve and maintain a polio free world. However, fragmented approaches and short-term planning pose considera... more

Download (301)

View PDF (217)

Financing for Sustainable Development Report 2022

Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development United Nations (UN) (2022) CC

The 2022 Financing for Sustainable Development Report identifies a “great finance divide” as a main driver of the divergent recovery. Developed countries were able to borrow record sums at ultra-low interest rates to support their people and economies, but the pandemic response and investment in... more

Download (248)

View PDF (283)

Combating Desertification in Kenya: Emerging Lessons from Empowering Local Communities

UNSP (2013) C1

The Arid and Semi-Arid lands (ASAL) constitute about 80% (467,200 sq. km) of Kenya’s total land mass and is grouped into geographical zones including the Savannah covering most of the North- eastern and South-eastern parts, the Coastal region, the North Rift Valley, the Highlands and the Lake Vict... more

Download (1789)

View PDF (1666)

Developing and Strengthening Community Health Worker Programs at Scale

Perry, H.; L. Crigler, et al. Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program (MCHIP) (2014)

A Reference Guide for Program Managers and Policy Makers. Recently, a renewed interest in large-scale community health worker (CHW) programs has been seen globally. This renewal provides an opportune moment to take stock of issues and challenges such programs face and what can be done to make them a... more

Download (1469)

View PDF (4315)

Coping with disasters : a guidebook to psychosocial intervention

Ehrenreich, John H; McQuaide, Sharon Mental Health Workers Without Borders (2001) C2

This manual is a guide to psychosocial interventions to help people cope with the emotional effects of disasters. Some are direct responses to the trauma of disasters, while others are longer-term responses. Even more than the physical effects of disasters, the emotional effects cause long-lasting s... more

Download (1127)

View PDF (2874)

A Wake-Up Call: Lessons from Ebola for the world’s health systems
recommended

Save the Children (2015)

Almost 30 countries vulnerable to a new Ebola-style Epidemic, jeopardising the future of millions of Children. The report ranks the world’s poorest countries on the state of their public health systems, finding that 28 have weaker defences in place than Liberia where, alongside Sierra Leone and Gu... more

Download (142)

View PDF (283)

Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention (2022 update)

Global Initiative for Asthma (2022) CC2

The reader acknowledges that this report is intended as an evidence-based asthma management strategy, for the use of health professionals and policy-makers. It is based, to the best of our knowledge, on current best evidence and medical knowledge and practice at the date of publication. When assessi... more

Download (584)

View PDF (482)

WHO Methodology for Point Prevalence Survey on Antibiotic Use in Hospitals

World Health Organization WHO (2019) C_WHO

Version 1.1. The WHO protocol has been adapted to resource-limited settings and builds on existing methodologies from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the Global PPS project from University of Antwerp, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Med... more

Download (678)

View PDF (1324)

Health Guide To Switzerland - The Swiss healthcare system in brief – a guide for immigrants to Switzerland

Schweizerisches Rotes Kreuz (2017) C1

Where must I go if I feel unwell or have had an accident? Is medical treatment free in Switzerland or must I pay for it? What should I do in an emergency? What types of insurance do I need? How can I protect myself from illness? Where can I find health information in my own language? The Health Guid... more

Download (276)

View PDF (564)

Guidelines for Diagnosing and Managing Disseminated Histoplasmosis among People Living with HIV
recommended

World Health Organization WHO (2020) C_WHO

Histoplasmosis is a disease caused by the fungus Histoplasma capsulatum. This disease is highly endemic in some regions of North America, Central America, and South America and is also reported in certain countries of Asia and Africa. It often affects people with impaired immunity, including people ... more

Download (274)

View PDF (547)

Guidelines on mental health promotive and preventive interventions for adolescents

World Health Organization WHO (2020) C_WHO

The Guidelines on promotive and preventive mental health interventions for adolescents - Helping Adolescents thrive (HAT), provide evidence-informed recommendations on psychosocial interventions to promote mental health, prevent mental disorders, and reduce self-harm and other risk behaviours among ... more

Download (337)

View PDF (658)

Developing health centres and hospital s indices for Syria, based on HeRAMS dataset 2014

World Health Organization (2017) C_WHO

This research paper uses the Health Resources and services Availability Mapping System (HeRAMS) database to develop two composite indices – one for health centres and one for hospitals – in order to analyse and assess the health facilities’ performance across time and to evaluate the di... more

Download (329)

View PDF (340)

Enhancing mental health pre-service training with the mhGAP Intervention Guide: experiences and lessons learned

World Health Organization WHO (2020) C_WHO

This document was designed to inform educators, amongst others, about enhancing the pre-service curriculum with mental health Gap Action Programme Intervention Guide (mhGAP-IG) materials, which can provide future professionals with the theoretical and clinical knowledge they need to provide mental h... more

Download (446)

View PDF (593)

HIV drug resistance report 2021

World Health Organization (WHO) (2021) C_WHO

The HIV drug resistance report 2021 summarizes findings from 38 countries that had finalized the surveys by the time of this report and shared data with WHO. Pretreatment HIVDR to non-nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI) can affect more than 10% of adults starting therapy and is fo... more

External Link

Guidance on operational microplanning for COVID-19 vaccination

World Health Organization WHO (2021) C_WHO

This publication is a companion document to the NDVP National Deployment and Vaccination Plans guidance, which provides a framework for countries to develop their national strategies. As countries face challenges with erratic vaccine supplies, use of multiple vaccine products with different charact... more

Download (205)

View PDF (165)

Family Assets Understanding and Addressing Child Marriage in Turkana

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) (2016) C_UNICEF

Child marriage is a widespread practice across Turkana, a nomadic pastoralist region in Kenya. This report explores the issue through the voices of those girls affected by it.

Download (154)

View PDF (576)

Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention (2019 update)

Global Initiative for Asthma (2019) CC2

A Wake-Up Call: Lessons from Ebola for the world’s health systems recommended

Guidelines for Diagnosing and Managing Disseminated Histoplasmosis among People Living with HIV recommended

A Wake-Up Call: Lessons from Ebola for the world’s health systems
recommended

Guidelines for Diagnosing and Managing Disseminated Histoplasmosis among People Living with HIV
recommended