Speaking on Wednesday at the High\u2011Level Forum on Sustainable Health Financing in Tangiers, Morocco, on the margins of the 58th session of the UN Economic Commission for Africa Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Youssouf stressed that health should be seen as a core development priority rather than a fiscal burden.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHealth is not a cost; it is a strategic economic asset,\u201d he told delegates. \u201cAfrica must invest in its health systems to protect sovereignty, drive growth and build resilience.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Youssouf said Africa\u2019s existing health financing model is no longer viable, citing persistently low public spending and high out\u2011of\u2011pocket payments that continue to push millions of households into poverty. With rising debt levels and increasing fiscal pressure across the continent, he said, decisive action was now unavoidable.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe time for reform is now,\u201d Youssouf said, calling for bold policy choices to safeguard long\u2011term development.<\/p>\n
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He emphasised that linking budget reform with innovative financing mechanisms, digital governance and regional integration can unlock a new health financing paradigm. According to Youssouf, stronger coordination between health systems and economic policy would improve efficiency, accountability and affordability.<\/p>\n
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Youssouf highlighted the central role of continental institutions in driving transformation, particularly the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). He said Africa CDC is crucial for strengthening preparedness and health security, while AfCFTA offers opportunities to reduce costs and promote pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturing on the continent.<\/p>\n
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Together, these initiatives can advance Africa\u2019s ambition for pharmaceutical sovereignty, reducing reliance on external suppliers and improving access to essential medicines and vaccines, he said.<\/p>\n
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Concluding his address, Youssouf urged participants at the forum to move beyond discussion and deliver tangible commitments.<\/p>\n
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\u201cToday\u2019s forum must deliver action,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need a coalition of countries ready to move faster, with commitments that are concrete, time\u2011bound and accountable. Health must become a pillar of Africa\u2019s sovereignty.\u201d<\/p>\n
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–AU\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":30568,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[44,26],"class_list":["post-30567","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf has called for urgent reform of health financing across the continent, warning that Africa\u2019s current approach is undermining economic growth, resilience and sovereignty.","published_date":"","news_description":"African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf has called for urgent reform of health financing across the continent, warning that Africa\u2019s current approach is undermining economic growth, resilience and sovereignty.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/30567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/30567\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30569,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/30567\/revisions\/30569"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=30567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}