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Africa needs primary healthcare
African countries must take proactive steps to strengthen their health systems.
African countries should heed to experts and policymakers call made at the sixth action of Africa Health Agenda International Conference in Kigali, to invest in primary healthcare and domestic medical financing to build sustainable and resilient systems across the continent.
Noteworthy, primary care is the cornerstone of robust healthcare systems, providing essential services such as preventive care, diagnosis, and treatment of common illnesses. In rural and underserved communities in Africa, these services are often hampered by a lack of resources and trained personnel.
There are pressing challenges facing Africa’s healthcare systems such as fluctuating funding, rising burden of non-communicable diseases, limited health budget, weak health facilities and shortage of health workers is a hindrance to the fight against diseases.
African countries must take proactive steps to strengthen their health systems. In particular, countries must prioritise affordable, equitable and accessible primary healthcare to effectively tackle health challenges. It is necessary to strengthen primary healthcare and build systems that are firmly rooted in local communities. At the same time, the centre of Africa’s health systems should focus on cost-effective solutions that achieve maximum impact with limited resources. Africa should redesign systems, leverage technology including Artificial Intelligence to reduce costs and provide community engagement to address non-communicable diseases. Technological innovations, particularly AI could provide solutions to the continent’s challenges.
No doubt, funding cuts are likely to impact negatively on the public health initiatives and vulnerable communities across Africa. It is critical to build resilient African health systems amid shrinking funding. There is need for innovation and bold decisions to reconsider health programmes.
Mr Obonyo is a Public Policy Analyst. Email: [email protected]