Whereas many African nations have made commitments to reaching UHC and have applied numerous well being insurance policies and programmes, challenges persist.
Common Well being Protection (UHC) is a worldwide well being objective geared toward guaranteeing that, by 2030, all folks have entry to the important well being providers they want with out struggling monetary hardship. Whereas many African nations have made commitments to reaching UHC and have applied numerous well being insurance policies and programmes, challenges persist.
PREMIUM TIMES reporter, Nike Adebowale-Tambe, sat with Lolem Ngong, a worldwide public well being professional on the simply concluded Worldwide Convention on Public Well being in Africa (CPHIA) to debate Africa’s push to realize UHC by 2030. Ms Ngong can be the Chief of Workers to the group of CEOs of Amref Well being Africa.
PT: What are the important thing challenges hampering the efforts of African international locations in reaching Common Well being Protection?
Ngong: We solely have seven years to realize Common Well being Protection (UHC) and the African area nonetheless has a lot of work to do. In 2016, the World Well being Organisation (WHO) introduced the formidable objective of accomplishing UHC by 2030 in assist of the Sustainable Improvement Objectives. To this point, most of our African international locations have made sturdy commitments/declarations on UHC, however only a few have a transparent technique and have created the fiscal area essential to scale back monetary boundaries to the attainment of UHC. We’re removed from our objective.
On this continent of 54 international locations, not even 25 per cent could attain UHC by 2030. Our continent is host to 17 per cent of the world’s inhabitants, but we nonetheless account for 23 per cent of the worldwide illness burden; solely 48 per cent obtain well being providers and entry will not be equitable. One of many main challenges in reaching UHC is well being financing. The area has not been profitable in creating the fiscal area essential for our international locations to extend their home assets to finance the attainment of UHC.
UHC, at its core, depends on well being financing which signifies that now we have to have the ability to finance our well being methods, finance our well being workforce, finance our provide chain system, and in addition finance primary equipping of main well being amenities. Our Main Well being Care system is the primary level of service. PHC providers won’t be strengthened by 2030 with out satisfactory fiscal area. To this point, majority of African international locations are nonetheless reliant on exterior funding sources.
The third problem is battle. Sure, we aren’t in battle between international locations on this continent however we’re seeing a number of conflicts inside our international locations. For instance, poor well being outcomes are aggravated in international locations like Cameroon, a rustic with lower than 25 million folks, and inside battle. It’s practically unattainable to achieve folks with well being providers in conflict-ravaged international locations. These political instabilities set again beneficial properties made in well being reminiscent of service protection and high quality of care.
PT: What methods do you suppose are important for strengthening healthcare methods in African international locations to realize common well being protection?
Ngong: Our African authorities has to take the creation of fiscal area severely. We can’t always depend on exterior assets as this isn’t environment friendly or sustainable. Home financing for well being must be extraordinarily intentional, so now we have to guarantee that we push the agenda on financing well being in our numerous senates and different authorities decision-making our bodies. And as we see local weather modifications, which is able to then affect well being, it means we could have extra calls for on the well being system. So the very first thing is, making a fiscal area that lessens reliance on exterior financing.
The second answer is to verify we convey well being nearer to the folks. We must always reap the benefits of know-how – how will we use know-how to our benefit, how can we use digital well being instruments to shut the hole in entry to well being? Are there revolutionary approaches to well being supply, different service supply fashions, promotion of task-shifting, and so on.? So I believe the answer lies in utilizing know-how and revolutionary service supply fashions to convey well being nearer to our communities.
PT: How can know-how be leveraged to enhance healthcare infrastructure and providers within the context of UHC in Africa?
Ngong: Once we discuss know-how options, folks suppose it’s totally theoretical and it may be overwhelming. I want to give two examples of how know-how can allow the supply of well being providers.
Amref Well being Africa, the place I work, makes use of a cell well being answer known as LEAP. Though we used this digital well being software earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic, we noticed its utility through the pandemic.
LEAP is used to coach neighborhood well being staff utilizing a cell coaching method. We used this through the pandemic to sensitise neighborhood well being staff on COVID-19 – the way it spreads, key prevention messages, how you can stop it, and how you can sensitise their communities. Now we have reached 3.5 million family members with the much-needed well being training, primary first assist, diet, and referral providers.
One other instance, generally, on use of digital well being instruments – transportable diagnostics machines that may detect a number of ailments utilizing a single machine. There are transportable units to measure blood strain at residence, sugar ranges at residence, residence check kits for HIV, and COVID-19, and so forth. These are all know-how options that can be utilized now.
Join free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the most recent in African information delivered straight to your inbox
PT: In what methods can the healthcare workforce be higher outfitted and expanded to fulfill the calls for of a rising inhabitants whereas guaranteeing fairness?
Ngong: Curriculum improvement has been talked about a number of occasions through the convention. We should practice a fit-for-purpose well being workforce, for present well being wants and the longer term. Our coaching establishments should evolve to fulfill the calls for of now and the way forward for well being. A query that has been on my thoughts is whether or not our well being coaching establishments, no matter cadre, are attentive to the imply age of our inhabitants (which is nineteen years). That ought to concern us.
PT: What function do public-private partnerships play in selling equitable entry to healthcare in Africa?
Ngong: Public Personal Partnerships (PPP) play a really essential function and can play an important function, significantly over the following 10-15 years as African international locations attempt to construct their home funding. The reason being that PPPs enable complementarity between private and non-private funds. As a result of we don’t but have satisfactory financing for UHC, we have to have inventive funding approaches, for instance, PPPs. Personal funds or assets can then be leveraged as international locations develop home assets. So I believe PPPs are extraordinarily vital.
