Africa’s Health Financing in a New Era – April, 2025

Africa’s health sector faces a critical financing crisis due to a 70% drop in Official Development Assistance (ODA), rising debt, and low domestic investment, with most countries falling short of the Abuja target of allocating 15% of budgets to health. This underfunding, combined with surging public health emergencies, external supply chain dependence, and a weak health workforce, threatens decades of progress and could lead to millions of preventable deaths and increased poverty by 2030.

To address this, Africa CDC is leading a three-pillar strategy focused on boosting domestic funding, introducing innovative financing tools like solidarity levies and diaspora bonds, and leveraging blended finance to attract private investment. Strong governance, better donor alignment, and phased implementation from 2025 to 2030 aim to build sustainable, resilient health systems and reduce external aid dependence.