- Angola’s $5M boost is a turning point in Africa CDC’s continued push to rally political leadership, domestic financing, and unified continental action around the New Public Health Order and the Lusaka Agenda.
- Angola’s initiative comes in the wake of 70% decrease in foreign financing of health programmes in Africa amid declining flow of development assistance from the US.
- For decades, USAID has been a primary source of financing for various health programmes in African economies, but the funding freeze and potential cuts announced this early this year continue to threaten key systems
- Angolan President João Lourenço made the $5 million funding announcement after a meeting with Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director General of Africa CDC.
Oil-rich Angola has pledged to pay Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) a total of $5 million as part of championing homegrown health financing plan by economies across the continent.
The move, which was announced by João Lourenço, President of the Republic of Angola and Chairperson of the African Union, signal’s the country’s leadership in driving regional health security for Africans.
President Lourenço made the announcement after a meeting with Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director General of Africa CDC, where the pair held talks on regional health priorities and the urgent need to mitigate the impact of declining development assistance.
“President Lourenço’s leadership reflects Africa’s collective determination to finance our health future,” said Dr. Kaseya. “This commitment is not only historic—it sends a powerful signal that Africa is ready to lead from the front, with bold investments and African-led solutions.”
Angola to champion ‘rethinking African health financing’ agenda
President Lourenço further committed to convening a Committee of African Heads of State to champion the implementation of Africa CDC’s continental strategy, “Rethinking African Health Financing in a New Era.” This initiative seeks to rally African heads of state and government to explore ways in which they can plug the roughly 70 percent decrease in external development financing for health programs in the wake of President Donald Trump’s closure of USAid in February.
For decades, USAID has been a primary source of financing for various health programmes in African economies, but the funding freeze and potential cuts announced this early this year continue to threaten key systems, especially reproductive health and HIV/AIDS treatment in vulnerable countries in the continent.
Estimates show that USAID closure has created a significant shortfall in health financing in Africa, estimated at roughly $12 billion per year.
Africa CDC on local manufacturing of healthcare products
In support of local manufacturing, Dr. Kaseya announced that Africa CDC will support Angola’s plan for production of mosquito bed nets —an initiative aimed at strengthening vector control and expanding regional production capacity.
President Lourenço welcomed Africa CDC’s commitment to advancing local manufacturing of health commodities and confirmed that a major national initiative aligned with this vision will soon be launched.
The two leaders also discussed Angola’s response to the ongoing cholera outbreak, with Dr. Kaseya commending the country’s efforts and reaffirming Africa CDC’s full financial and technical support.
He further acknowledged Angola’s essential role in advancing continental solidarity and public health resilience.
This announcement marks a major milestone in Africa CDC’s continued efforts to rally political leadership, domestic financing, and unified continental action around the New Public Health Order and the Lusaka Agenda.
The agency continues to work closely with all AU Member States to build inclusive, self-reliant, and resilient health systems for Africa’s 1.4 billion people.
Read also: Is USAID’s replacement by USAIHA a strategic move or an afterthought?
How Africa CDC is countering health-related aid freeze
In the wake of foreign aid freeze, Africa CDC has been mobilizing AU member states toward a new era of health investment. Dr. Kaseya has already put forward a three-pronged plan to ensure sustanable healthcare financing to meet emerging needs.
The plan includes urging countries to drastically increase their budget allocation for public health programs to at least 15 percent. So far, however, Africa CDC says only two countries meet the Abuja target of allocating 15% of national budgets to healthcare.
“We need to have a costed strategic plan and a national financing plan. We need to push for more alignment of external resources,” said Dr. Kaseya in early April.
Secondly, the continental healthcare agency is pursuing new financing initiatives, including the Africa Epidemics Fund, airline tax or regional solidarity levies to guarantee availability of finances to fight epidemics.
The operational framework for the Africa Epidemics Fund was unveiled early this year, and it seeks to provide a pool of resources to counter emergencies.
The third strategy will see Africa CDC reaching out to philanthropic organisations and the private sector with a view to securing long-term investment into critical infrastructure, including local vaccine production, digital health systems, and logistics networks.
As part of this effort, Africa CDC said it is rolling out the African Pooled Procurement Mechanism, a plan that seeks to cut costs and increase access to essential health commodities for economies in Africa.
Read also: Kenya to train 25,000 community health workers for Africa CDC and Red Cross
