President John Mahama has called on African leaders, development partners and private sector players to work together more closely to address the continent’s healthcare challenges, warning against fragmented approaches that could slow progress.
Speaking while co-chairing a high-level session on rethinking health sovereignty on the sidelines of the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, President Mahama stressed the need for stronger cooperation among African countries to improve healthcare financing, pharmaceutical production and health outcomes across the continent.
He said the “Accra Reset” agenda was developed in response to declining global support for healthcare and humanitarian interventions, adding that African countries needed to take greater responsibility for their healthcare systems.
“I believe that everybody is familiar with the Accra Reset. We were motivated to come together to take our destiny into our own hands based on what the global realities were,” he said.
According to him, dwindling international funding for health interventions made it necessary for African countries to rethink their approach to healthcare financing and delivery.
“Finance for health interventions and humanitarian crisis response across the world was beginning to dwindle, and we needed to act in order that Africa could continue to meet its obligations under the Sustainable Development Goals,” he stated.
President Mahama highlighted the continent’s heavy dependence on imported medical products, describing the situation as unsustainable.
“Seventy per cent of pharmaceuticals in Africa are imported, and ninety per cent of vaccines are imported. We bear 25 per cent of the global disease burden, yet only three per cent of pharmaceutical products are produced in Africa,” he said.
He said that African countries must increase domestic investment in healthcare and treat the sector as a major economic priority.
“We realised that we needed to take our destiny into our own hands, increase our own financing and leverage more domestic revenue to invest in healthcare and see healthcare as a strong economic pillar,” he explained.
The President, however, acknowledged that rising debt burdens across many African countries remained a major obstacle to increased domestic investment in health and other social sectors.
“If you are spending 50 per cent of your revenue servicing debt, how much is left for education, health, agriculture and all the things that create a decent life for your people?” he asked.
President Mahama said African leaders must move beyond discussions and begin implementing practical solutions that would improve healthcare systems and outcomes for citizens.
“Enough of the talking. Let’s move into how we create the vehicle so that Africa can come together and come out with a compact that allows us to improve health outcomes for our people,” he said.
He revealed that since the launch of the Accra Reset initiative, discussions and consultations had continued among stakeholders, with further engagements expected at the upcoming World Health Summit.
According to him, institutions such as the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention are already aligned with the agenda.
President Mahama further warned against disjointed efforts in implementing health reforms across the continent.
“We should not be fragmented in the work that we are going to do. All of us need to pull together to achieve the outcomes that we want,” he said.
He also called for stronger collaboration between governments, the private sector and development partners to mobilise resources for healthcare investment.
“Funding is available, but we need to bring the private sector, state parties and our partners into the same boat,” he said.
Clarifying the objective of the Accra Reset initiative, President Mahama said the agenda was not intended to isolate Africa from international cooperation.
“Accra Reset is not about isolationism. It is about how we can work better with our partners in order to achieve outcomes that will benefit our people,” he explained.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com