The African Union’s Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, Ambassador Amma Twum-Amoah, has urged African countries to diversify and sustain health financing to strengthen health systems and support the continent’s long-term development. Speaking at the African Union Extraordinary Health Summit in Accra on Tuesday, July 21, Ambassador Twum-Amoah said diversified and sustainable financing is one of the key pillars of the African Union’s health transformation agenda.

The summit, which brought together ministers, policymakers, health experts, and development partners, aimed to discuss priorities for strengthening health systems, improving health security, and accelerating progress towards universal health coverage across the continent.

Ambassador Twum-Amoah explained that the roadmap is built around seven mutually reinforcing pillars, including adolescents, children, men, women, and youth; health equity and vulnerable populations; access to medicines, regulatory harmonisation, and local manufacturing; health security and health system strengthening; diversified and sustainable financing; leadership, governance, community engagement, and oversight; and integrated service delivery across diseases and population groups.

These pillars are designed to work together rather than as separate priorities. They constitute one continental compact to place people, equity, resilience, and sustainability at the centre of Africa’s health transformation, Ambassador Twum-Amoah said.

The African Union’s roadmap envisions an Africa that ends AIDS as a public health threat, controls tuberculosis, malaria, neglected tropical diseases, and non-communicable diseases, prevents maternal, newborn, and child deaths, responds effectively to epidemics and pandemics, and advances universal health coverage through strong primary healthcare systems.

### Key Facts

  • The African Union's health transformation agenda is based on the AU Roadmap to 2030 and beyond, which is aligned with Agenda 2063, its Second Ten-Year Implementation Plan, and the Africa Health Strategy.
  • The roadmap aims to end AIDS as a public health threat and control other diseases like tuberculosis, malaria, and non-communicable diseases.
  • The AU has identified seven mutually reinforcing pillars to achieve its health goals.
  • The pillars include adolescents, children, men, women, and youth; health equity and vulnerable populations; access to medicines, regulatory harmonisation, and local manufacturing; health security and health system strengthening; diversified and sustainable financing; leadership, governance, community engagement, and oversight; and integrated service delivery across diseases and population groups.
  • The AU aims to achieve universal health coverage through strong primary healthcare systems.

The African Union Extraordinary Health Summit has brought attention to the need for diversified and sustainable health financing to strengthen health systems and support the continent’s long-term development. The summit has also highlighted the importance of the AU's roadmap in achieving universal health coverage and ending AIDS as a public health threat.