Africa must take greater control of its health sector by increasing domestic funding, expanding local production of medical supplies and investing in digital health systems, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has said.
Duale said African countries can no longer rely heavily on external support to sustain essential health programmes, urging governments to turn health commitments into real investments that can strengthen national systems and improve access to care.
Speaking during the plenary session of the 76th WHO Regional Committee for Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Tuesday, Duale said the continent needed practical action to achieve a more sustainable and self-reliant health sector.
“At the plenary of the 76th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa, I presented Kenya’s firm position on the urgent need to translate Africa’s health vision into concrete action,” Duale said.
The meeting considered the regional strategy, A New Era of Health for Africa: United Action for Vision 2035, presented by WHO Regional Director for Africa Dr Mohamed Yakub Janabi.
Kenya backed the strategy, saying it supports reforms aimed at building a healthcare system that is resilient, accessible and able to meet the needs of its population.
Duale said the growing uncertainty around global health funding had exposed the risks of depending on external financing to run health programmes across Africa.
He called on governments to raise more resources locally and commit more public funds to healthcare, saying countries must take greater responsibility for financing essential services.
He pointed to Kenya’s Taifa Care programme under the Social Health Authority (SHA) as an example of efforts to increase domestic health financing.
“Kenya’s Taifa Care programme, through the Social Health Authority (SHA), now covers more than 32 million Kenyans and is strengthening domestic financing for primary healthcare,” Duale said.
The CS also called on the WHO Regional Office for Africa to help countries prepare stronger health investment cases and bring together Health and Finance Ministers to push for increased funding for the sector.
He said stronger domestic financing would make it easier for African countries to maintain essential health programmes even when donor support changes or declines.
Duale also urged African countries to increase local production of medicines, vaccines and diagnostic products as part of efforts to reduce reliance on imports and external suppliers.
He highlighted Kenya’s ratification of the treaty establishing the African Medicines Agency and called on other Member States to speed up the ratification process.
According to Duale, a strong continental regulatory system, joint procurement and shared regulatory approvals would give local manufacturers a more predictable market for their products.
“Health product sovereignty will ultimately be built through procurement and sustained demand, not declarations alone,” Duale maintained.
He said expanding local manufacturing would strengthen Africa’s ability to access essential medical supplies while creating room for growth in the continent’s pharmaceutical and health technology industries.
Digital health was also part of Kenya’s proposals at the meeting, with Duale outlining efforts to build an integrated national digital health system.
The architecture links health facilities, claims management systems and national health registries, while also supporting healthcare delivery at community level through more than 107,000 Community Health Promoters.
Kenya also backed the creation of a regional health data hub based on systems that can work together and strong data governance.
Duale said African countries should have ownership and confidence in such systems to protect their control over health data while allowing secure sharing of information across borders.
The call for greater self-reliance comes as health programmes across Africa continue to face pressure from uncertainty over global funding and dependence on external assistance.
Kenya maintains that stronger domestic financing, increased local production and better digital infrastructure can help countries deal with funding and supply disruptions while improving access to essential healthcare.
Duale reaffirmed Kenya’s commitment to working with the WHO Regional Director and other Member States to put the regional strategy into action and strengthen health systems across the continent.
The Kenyan delegation included Ambassador Galma Boru, Director-General for Health Dr Patrick Amoth, Digital Health Agency CEO Eng. Anthony Lenaiyara and Director of Health Sector Coordination and Intergovernmental Relations Dr Omar Albush.
The discussions are expected to guide efforts to develop a health sector that is more resilient, sustainable and less reliant on external support.