Ghana’s Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has called on African countries to increase domestic investment in healthcare and reduce dependence on external funding if the continent is to achieve sustainable health sovereignty.
Speaking at the ministerial session of the first-ever African Union Extraordinary Health Summit in Accra, Mr. Akandoh said African governments must take greater responsibility for financing their health systems through predictable and sustainable domestic resources.
He stressed the need for countries to work towards meeting commitments under the 2001 Abuja Declaration, which set a target for African governments to allocate at least 15% of their annual national budgets to the health sector.
According to the Health Minister, increased domestic financing is crucial to building resilient healthcare systems capable of responding to the continent’s current and emerging health challenges.
The ministerial meeting forms part of the African Union Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government being hosted by President John Dramani Mahama in Accra from July 21 to 22, 2026.
The summit is bringing together African leaders, health and finance ministers, the African Union Commission, development partners and other stakeholders to develop coordinated responses to some of the continent’s most pressing health challenges.
African leaders are expected to deliberate on and adopt key decisions aimed at accelerating Universal Health Coverage and strengthening health systems across the continent.
The high-level meeting will also focus on accelerating efforts to end AIDS and tuberculosis by 2030, reducing preventable maternal deaths and tackling communicable, non-communicable and neglected tropical diseases.
The renewed push for increased domestic health financing comes 25 years after African Union member states adopted the Abuja Declaration in 2001, committing themselves to allocating at least 15% of their annual budgets to improving the health sector.
Despite the commitment, health financing remains a major challenge across the continent, with many countries continuing to depend significantly on external funding for critical health programmes.
The Accra summit is therefore expected to renew calls for stronger domestic resource mobilisation and greater political commitment to building sustainable and resilient healthcare systems across Africa.
