At a high-level side event during the 2026 African Union Summit, Claver Gatete, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, urged African leaders to integrate health financing into broader fiscal and economic reforms, calling health central to the continent's sovereignty. He highlighted a sharp drop in global development assistance for health, from about $80 billion in 2021 to $39 billion in 2025. This underscores Africa's reliance on external funding and imported medical supplies.
Claver Gatete, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, addressed a high-level side event at the 2026 African Union Summit under the theme 'From Commitment to Action: Accelerating Health Financing, Partnerships and Delivery at Scale.' He described the global system as shifting from hyper-globalisation to 'strategic resilience,' where nations prioritize sectors like food, energy, and health.
Gatete pointed out that development assistance for health in Africa has declined sharply, from about $80 billion in 2021 to $39 billion in 2025. This drop highlights the continent's dependence on external funding and imported medical supplies. Africa spends an estimated $145 billion annually on health, but less than half comes from public budgets, forcing households to bear high out-of-pocket expenses.
He outlined four key priorities: integrating health into medium-term fiscal frameworks, enhancing domestic resource mobilization, expanding pharmaceutical manufacturing through the African Continental Free Trade Area, and bolstering health systems. Gatete emphasized that attaining health sovereignty is essential for safeguarding Africa's economic future.
The event focuses on accelerating health financing and partnerships across Africa, aiming to turn commitments into tangible actions for the continent's health agenda.
