18 Dec UHC Day 2024 Webinar: Ensuring sustained financial support to the HIV response via domestic funding in Africa.
Background
On 12 December 2024, in commemoration of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day, Africa REACH and AIDS Healthcare Foundation Africa (AHF Africa) co-hosted a high-impact webinar addressing one of the most critical challenges in public health: ensuring sustained financial support for the HIV response through domestic funding in Africa.
The webinar brought together advocates, and experts to tackle the urgent need for increased domestic investment in health systems across the continent. While Sub-Saharan Africa remains the epicentre of the HIV epidemic, with over 700 new adolescent infections daily, funding for HIV programs has fallen short of global targets. This webinar emphasised the necessity of shifting from reliance on external funding to fostering national ownership, aligning with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and Universal Health Coverage goals.
What Was the Objective of the Webinar?
The webinar aimed to:
- Advocate for increased and sustained domestic investment in health, particularly in HIV.
- Promote accountability and transparency in health budgeting to ensure the optimal impact of investments.
- Foster the establishment of health financing mechanisms and policies prioritizing HIV funding across African nations.
Who Attended?
The webinar convened a diverse audience of stakeholders, including policy experts from health, finance, and planning ministries, development partners, youth advocates and civil society organisations.
The distinguished panel included:
- Sonia Ndimbira – Campaign Lead, Africa REACH (Moderator)
- Oluwakemi Gbadamosi – Director of Advocacy & Policy, AHF Africa Bureau
- Joseph Munsanje – Member of Parliament and Chairperson, Zambia Parliamentary Caucus on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
- Jerop Limo – Executive Director, AYARHE (Kenya)
- Madam Cecilia Lodonu-Senoo – Developing NGO Delegation to the Global Fund Board (Ghana)
- Farai P. Mahaso – Executive Director, BHASO (Zimbabwe)
- John Eliasu Mahama – Acting Director, Policy and Planning, Ghana AIDS Commission
- Benito Muhilima – Advocate for Community Involvement in HIV Funding Advocacy, Community Power Voice (Malawi)
- Dr. Yinka Falola-Anoemuah – Director of Resource Mobilisation, National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA, Nigeria)
Key Takeaways
- Accountability:
- Communities must hold their leaders accountable for fulfilling commitments to health financing.
- The public has a role in holding the private sector accountable for contributing to healthcare development.
- Adaptability:
- Countries must pivot domestic resource efforts creatively, leveraging global trends such as climate change to integrate topics such as Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) into broader health and environmental strategies.
- Innovation:
- Innovative financing mechanisms like HIV trusts in Zimbabwe and Nigeria were highlighted as models to strengthen domestic resource mobilisation for health.
Next Steps
The webinar concluded with a call to action for renewed efforts to:
- Strengthen national health systems through sustained investment in HIV programs.
- Foster regional collaboration and knowledge exchange on effective health financing models.
- Ensure transparency and accountability in the allocation and use of HIV-related resources.
An outcome document from the webinar will be disseminated as an advocacy tool to catalyse action across the continent, aiming to accelerate progress toward Universal Health Coverage and sustainable HIV responses in Africa. Building on this dialogue, a second phase of the webinar will focus on the role of the private sector, providing a platform for private sector experts and policymakers to dissect this critical issue in-depth.
