Debt, climate shocks threaten Africa’s health systems – Expert

Dr Ebere Okereke, a global health expert and Chief Programme Officer at Reaching the Last Mile, has warned that Africa’s fragile health systems risk collapse unless leaders confront mounting systemic threats.

Okereke gave the warning in a reflection made available to newsmen on Sunday in Abuja, titled “Despite Global Headwinds, WHO’s Africa Meeting Agenda is Narrow and Technical”.

She issued the caution as African health ministers gathered in Lusaka for the 75th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa (RC75).

According to her, debt crises, climate shocks, dwindling donor support, and the migration of health workers are exerting severe pressure on the continent’s already weak systems.

She further warned that the week-long meeting – the first under Prof. Mohamed Janabi, WHO’s new Regional Director for Africa – risked becoming “another symbolic gathering” if ministers focused only on narrow technical discussions while ignoring deeper systemic challenges.

“The Lusaka meeting is an opportunity for WHO AFRO and its ministers to demonstrate that they can look beyond technical resolutions to the systemic issues that determine whether those resolutions can be implemented,” she said.

She pointed out that in 2025, African governments were projected to spend more than 80 billion dollars on debt servicing, dwarfing health allocations in many countries.

Meanwhile, she said outbreaks of cholera, Ebola, and mpox had surged by over 40 per cent since 2022, often worsened by climate-related disasters.

She noted that donor retreat and cuts in official development assistance were compounding financing gaps.

While migration of health workers abroad and the rising burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) were stretching already weakened systems.

“WHO itself is constrained by shrinking funding and global politics.

“But it can still help countries navigate these realities by framing health as integral to debt sustainability and elevating climate resilience, workforce retention, and NCD prevention as urgent priorities, “ she noted.

The RC75 agenda includes discussions on oral health, rehabilitation, safe blood supply, malaria, primary healthcare, and health data systems.

While these are important, she argued that the balance was misaligned when the existential pressures of financing, climate change, and workforce migration were sidelined.

“Observers say Prof. Janabi’s leadership will be closely scrutinised, as the meeting coincides with a global transition, with WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus preparing to conclude his tenure in Geneva.

“Frameworks such as the New Public Health Order, the Lusaka Agenda, and the Accra Initiative already outline a roadmap for stronger health systems, resilient financing, and local manufacturing.

“The challenge, experts say, is whether RC75’s outcomes will align with Africa’s long-term health ambitions,” she highlighted.

According to her, the question is whether RC75 will confront these realities, or risk becoming another symbolic meeting,

“Africa’s health future depends on it,” she added.

Supreme news reports that health ministers from 47 African countries will gather in Lusaka, Zambia, from Aug. 25 to Aug. 27 for the 75th Session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa (RC75).

The meeting, which will bring together over 500 delegates, including Ghebreyesus and Regional Janabi, will set an ambitious health agenda for the continent.

Discussions will focus on strengthening health security, improving access to lifesaving care, and tackling persistent challenges such as malaria, maternal mortality, and severe workforce shortages.

Key agenda items at RC75 include integrating oral health into primary care, modernising blood supply systems, expanding rehabilitation services, advancing maternal and child health, revitalising malaria control, and boosting emergency preparedness.

The session will open with remarks by Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, alongside WHO leadership, and will be broadcast in English, French, and Portuguese.