What Africa should do to boost health sovereignty

Across much of Africa, health financing remains fragmented across public, private, and donor channels. [Courtesy]

Africa's health financing discourse is at an inflection point. Historically anchored on resource mobilisation, particularly from external sources, the agenda is now reshaped by plateauing donor flows and shifting global priorities. This transition reframes the central policy question. It is not merely about how resources are mobilised, but whether health systems are structurally designed to deliver sustainable, efficient, and resilient outcomes over time.

Health sovereignty is not about eliminating external support. It is about reducing structural dependence by building systems that can finance, deliver, and manage healthcare with greater reliance on domestic capability and institutional strength. Across much of Africa, health financing remains fragmented across public, private, and donor channels. As external support recedes, these fractures become more visible.