African leaders have renewed their commitment to strengthening health systems and expanding access to quality healthcare across the continent.
The commitment was contained in a declaration adopted at the end of the 20th Extraordinary Session of the African Union (AU) Assembly on Health, held in Accra, Ghana.
According to the declaration, the leaders resolved to reduce preventable maternal and child deaths, tackle communicable and non-communicable diseases, and build more resilient health systems capable of responding effectively to emerging health challenges.
The leaders also pledged to improve access to quality healthcare and advance efforts towards achieving universal health coverage across Africa by 2030.
They noted that primary healthcare must remain the foundation of resilient health systems, while calling for integrated healthcare delivery, stronger community participation and improved preparedness for epidemics and pandemics.
The summit further emphasised the need for increased investment in health research, innovation and sustainable financing mechanisms to strengthen the continent’s capacity to address its healthcare challenges.
The African leaders also resolved to dismantle financial, structural, social and geographical barriers that prevent people from accessing healthcare, particularly women, children, adolescents, persons with disabilities, migrants, displaced persons and other vulnerable groups.
Reaffirming the Abuja Declaration, the leaders restated the commitment of African countries to allocate at least 15 per cent of their annual national budgets to the health sector.
They also called for innovative approaches to health financing and measures to reduce the continent’s dependence on external funding for healthcare delivery.
The summit’s declaration comes amid continued efforts by African countries to strengthen health systems and improve their capacity to respond to public health emergencies.
Meanwhile, the AU Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, Ambassador Amma Twum Amoah, told the summit that Africa had recorded significant progress in expanding access to life-saving treatments.
She noted that the continent had also made gains in reducing AIDS-related deaths and strengthening disease surveillance systems, highlighting the progress made in tackling major health challenges.
