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Obasanjo, speaking at the Africa Health Sovereignty Summit in Accra, said the fund would reduce dependency on delayed foreign assistance and empower African nations to address their health challenges with speed, resilience, and autonomy.
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has proposed the creation of a dedicated Africa Health Fund to provide sustainable, Africa-led financing for health infrastructure and emergency response systems across the continent.
Obasanjo, speaking at the Africa Health Sovereignty Summit in Accra, said the fund would reduce dependency on delayed foreign assistance and empower African nations to address their own health challenges with speed, resilience, and autonomy.
He said the fund could be modelled on the African Union Peace Fund, which had already proven effective in responding to continental crises. Recounting his own experience as a special envoy to the Horn of Africa, Obasanjo noted how lack of immediate donor support delayed interventions in Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Obasanjo proposed a USD 100 levy on flights into and out of Africa, excluding intra-African travel to generate seed capital.
The levy, he said, would serve as an initial contribution to the health fund, which he suggested could be managed by the African Development Bank (AfDB). He also urged African governments to explore additional innovative sources to grow the fund into a robust financial mechanism for both emergency health response and long-term health infrastructure development.
Former President of Ghana John Dramani Mahama who opened the Africa Health Sovereignty Summit, called for urgent reform of global health governance, declaring that Africa must no longer be a passive recipient of solutions but the author and architect of its health destiny.
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He described the current global health framework as outdated and unfit for a multipolar world facing intersecting crises, from pandemics to climate shocks and widening inequality.
