Investing in Africa’s Universal Health Coverage begins to pay off

African Governments are making significant strides in committing to step up financing for the health sectors as the global call for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) gains momentum a year after the COVID-19 pandemic. The recent United Nations high-level meeting highlighted the importance of UHC, emphasizing the need for equitable access to quality healthcare for all. CNBC Africa's Aby Agina interviewed Sibusiso Hlatjwako, Director External Affairs, Africa Region, Path, shedding light on the progress and challenges ahead. Hlatjwako emphasized the critical role of collaborative efforts among countries to strengthen health systems and improve healthcare delivery. He discussed PATH's campaign 'PATH for UHC,' which focuses on health research, development, and scale-up of demand-driven innovations to enhance healthcare quality, reduce costs, and increase access. The campaign also targets the establishment of secure paperless public health systems, promotion of sustainably financed, integrated health services, and creation of new markets to support local producers of essential medicines and medical devices. The ultimate goal is to achieve equitable global health access, with a particular focus on Africa. Looking ahead, Hlatjwako expressed optimism that the commitments made at the UNGA meeting would be implemented, but stressed the importance of concerted efforts from governments, media, civil society, and the public to ensure accountability. He highlighted the urgency of addressing preventable maternal and child deaths, citing WHO statistics that show over 4.5 million women and babies die each year from preventable causes. By pushing towards UHC, countries can prevent these unnecessary deaths and strengthen public health systems, particularly benefitting low and middle-income countries, many of which are in Africa.