Africa is facing a mathematical impossibility that threatens to dismantle decades of public health progress. As the continent’s leaders prepare to gather in Addis Ababa for the AU Heads of State Summit, a coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) is blowing the whistle on a looming fiscal cliff. Over the past 4 years, Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Africa contracted by 70 percent, the largest decline in recent history. Simultaneously, the continent has seen a 41 percent surge in disease outbreaks. While the threats are multiplying, the chequebook is closing.
On 5 February 2026, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Africa, in collaboration with AfricaREACH, WACI Health, an African regional advocacy organisation, and Resilience Action Network Africa (RANA), an independent African CSO advocacy network, will convene a high-level webinar to address the "$17 Question". Currently, total health spending across many African nations averages just $17 per person per year. The minimum required for essential services? $60.
"We cannot beg our way out of a $43 per person deficit," says Dr Penninah Lutung, the AHF Executive Vice President. "With donor priorities shifting and assistance declining, Africa must pivot from reliance to sovereignty. This isn't just about health; it’s about continental security." Rosemary Mburu, the Executive Director of WACI Health, adds, "With a 41 percent surge in outbreaks and a 70 percent drop in aid, Africa can no longer remain a passenger in its own survival. We are demanding that the communities most affected by health crises lead the policy decisions that define our future."
Africa has no shortage of bold commitments. From the historic Abuja Declaration's 15 percent target to the African Leadership Meeting (ALM) Investing in Health Declaration, many have been adopted.
Still, as we face a projected 70 percent drop in international health aid and a 41 percent surge in disease outbreaks, the time for "declarative diplomacy" has passed.
The Webinar: A Survival Strategy, Not a Talk-Shop is an upcoming session assembling heavyweights from the EAC, AUDA-NEPAD, and Civil Society to share insights and lessons to move the continent beyond rhetoric. The objective is to finalise a CSO-driven Call to Action that will inform the deliberations of the AU Heads of State.
Key issues on the agenda include:
- The Abuja Target Reframed: Challenging nations that still fund health at below 10 percent of national budgets.
- Local Manufacturing: Ending the era where Africa is last in line for life-saving vaccines and medicines.
- Domestic Resource Mobilisation: Finding African solutions for African health challenges.
The webinar is the definitive curtain-raiser for the AU Summit, providing a platform for those most affected by health crises to inform high-level policy decisions.
Visit aidshealth.org to find out more.
