{"id":870861,"date":"2025-09-06T00:14:38","date_gmt":"2025-09-06T05:14:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/06\/who-dg-urges-africa-to-break-aid-dependency-strengthen-health-system\/"},"modified":"2025-09-06T00:14:38","modified_gmt":"2025-09-06T05:14:38","slug":"who-dg-urges-africa-to-break-aid-dependency-strengthen-health-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/06\/who-dg-urges-africa-to-break-aid-dependency-strengthen-health-system\/","title":{"rendered":"WHO DG urges Africa to break aid dependency, strengthen health system"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"MTN<\/a><\/p>\n

The Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Ghebreyesus, on Tuesday, urged African leaders to shake off the yoke of aid dependency and invest in resilient, country-owned health systems.<\/p>\n

Mr Ghebreyesus made the call at the Africa Health Sovereignty Summit in Accra, Ghana, convened under the ambitious Accra Initiative.<\/p>\n

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\"FIRST<\/a><\/p>\n

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He commended President John Mahama of Ghana for his bold leadership in convening the summit and championing reforms aimed at increasing domestic health financing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis summit builds on the leadership of President Kagame and the African Union to strengthen reliance on domestic resources. But it goes a step further, acknowledging that finance alone will not take us to the aspirations of the Lusaka Agenda,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

to the WHO chief, the continent is facing a health financing cliff as health aid declines drastically.<\/p>\n

He said aid is projected to decline by up to 40 per cent this year compared to just two years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cLife-saving medicines are sitting in warehouses, health workers are losing jobs, clinics are closing, and millions are missing care,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n

Despite the crisis, he called on African leaders to seize the opportunity to transform, adding that in the crisis lies an opportunity to embrace a new era of sovereignty, self-reliance, and solidarity.<\/p>\n

He hailed Ghana\u2019s recent reforms, including legislation to increase financing for its National Health Insurance Scheme, as a model of health sovereignty.<\/p>\n

He stressed that while private and philanthropic capital are valuable, they must complement, not replace, public financing.<\/p>\n

He also stressed the need for better utilisation of existing funds, revealing that up to 13 per cent of health budgets in low- and middle-income countries go unspent due to weak financial systems.<\/p>\n

\u2018Africa does not need charity, handouts\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n

To address these inefficiencies, he said WHO is supporting governments with tools such as health taxes, pooled procurement, domestic manufacturing investment, and digital public health financial systems.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must also confront structural constraints. Debt service burdens are crowding out social investments, and donor funds often bypass national systems,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

He cited staggering statistics to underscore Africa\u2019s financial disadvantage: in 2023, the continent received $74 billion in aid but lost $90 billion to illicit financial flows and $55 billion through corporate tax exemptions.<\/p>\n

Africa lost more than it gained from aid. This is unacceptable,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

\"MTN<\/a><\/p>\n

He championed health taxes as a practical solution, noting that a 50 per cent price increase on harmful products could generate $3.7 trillion globally in five years and save millions of lives.<\/p>\n

On the global stage, the WHO DG said the organisation is pushing for a more democratic, equitable health architecture, referencing the recent landmark resolution at the World Health Assembly led by Nigeria and co-sponsored by over 25 countries, including Ghana.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfrica does not need charity. Africa needs fair terms,\u201d he said<\/p>\n

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RAED ALSO:\u00a0Former Nigeria president urges support for traditional medicine, health fund for Africa<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

He echoed Ghana\u2019s first president, Kwame Nkrumah: \u201cWe are not interested in handouts. We seek a new international order in which health and development are global rights, not privileges for the few.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added with a rallying call for global and continental leadership: \u201cThe difference between crisis and opportunity is leadership. It\u2019s an investment to be nurtured, in people, in stability, and prosperity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN<\/a><\/strong>) reports that the Accra Health Sovereignty Summit continues this week with sessions aimed at developing actionable strategies to deliver on the Lusaka Agenda and establish a new global health order anchored in African leadership, accountability, and sustainability.<\/p>\n

(NAN)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Ghebreyesus, on Tuesday, urged African leaders to shake off the yoke of aid dependency and invest in resilient, country-owned health systems. Mr Ghebreyesus made the call at the Africa Health Sovereignty Summit in Accra, Ghana, convened under the ambitious Accra Initiative. He commended President John Mahama<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":870862,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2084,29332],"tags":[14302,12912],"class_list":{"0":"post-870861","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-africa","8":"category-urges","9":"tag-africa","10":"tag-urges"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=870861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870861\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/870862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=870861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=870861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=870861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}