Amid mounting concerns over the looming crisis in health development funding, leaders from the Great Lakes region convened in Lusaka, Zambia, to explore sustainable solutions. The summit, which brought together representatives from the East African Community (EAC), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), aimed to strategize on securing essential healthcare funding and sustaining critical medical services.
With international aid dwindling, particularly from the United States, the region faces a dire situation, with severe medical supply shortages threatening healthcare services. Stakeholders, led by SHARP, the East Africa National Networks of AIDS and Health Service Organizations (EANNASO), and Medrap, highlighted the urgent need for African nations to seek support from European partners and other donors to avert a potential humanitarian catastrophe.
The summit participants underscored the historical role of international aid in sustaining healthcare initiatives, particularly in combating HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), and promoting sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) education for adolescents. The possible reduction or withdrawal of funding threatens to undo years of progress, putting millions at risk.
“Africa must urgently integrate and strengthen its domestic healthcare systems to meet critical health needs,” emphasized the participants. They called for regional and national policies that allocate more domestic resources toward healthcare infrastructure, medical supplies, and personnel to ensure uninterrupted service delivery.
Dennis Bwana, EANNASO’s Officer in charge of SHARP project implementation in the Great Lakes region, urged policymakers to adopt, develop, improve, and implement subnational policies that reinforce healthcare systems. He stressed that without strategic budgeting and prioritization, health service delivery would be severely affected.
Kenya, Burundi, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Zambia, and Rwanda were urged to strengthen collaborations among public, private, and faith-based health institutions to ensure quality SRH services and essential health commodities. The need for increased mental health support was also highlighted, as the sector faces the risk of collapse due to dwindling supplies and inadequate funding.
With development partners withdrawing support, fears of an uncertain healthcare future continue to rise. Leaders agreed that African nations must adopt a multi-faceted approach one that involves robust domestic investments, regional cooperation, and strategic international partnerships to sustain essential healthcare services.
The summit concluded with a strong commitment to implement policy reforms that prioritize healthcare funding, ensuring that vulnerable populations do not bear the brunt of diminishing aid. The call for immediate action resounded, as leaders vowed to work collectively to secure the continent’s health future.
