{"id":119840,"date":"2026-02-15T17:34:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T17:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/amb-gatete-advocates-rethinking-health-financing-in-africa"},"modified":"2026-02-15T18:11:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T18:11:23","slug":"amb-gatete-advocates-rethinking-health-financing-in-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/amb-gatete-advocates-rethinking-health-financing-in-africa","title":{"rendered":"Amb Gatete Advocates Rethinking Health Financing in Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>Ambassador Claver Gatete, the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), has called on African countries to rethink how they finance health systems amidst a decline in global development assistance for health over the past four years.<\/p>\n

Gatete said this during a High-Level Side Event on Africa\u2019s Health Sovereignty held on the margins of the African Union\u2019s 39th Ordinary Summit in Addis Ababa on Sunday, February 15.<\/p>\n

\u201cDevelopment assistance for health has declined sharply from about US$80 billion in 2021 to roughly US$39 billion in 2025,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

According to Gatete, the continent is facing a new global reality where external support is shrinking, debt pressures are rising, and households continue to shoulder the heaviest burden of health spending.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this new global landscape, health is no longer viewed simply as a social service. It has become a strategic economic sector, alongside food, energy and technology.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gatete noted that the consequences of health crises extend far beyond hospitals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe impact was not limited to hospitals. It slowed factories, reduced labour participation, disrupted education and weakened growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, health shocks quickly became economic shocks, and economic shocks became development setbacks,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Against that backdrop, Gatete said Africa\u2019s health systems are now facing a major financing challenge as donor support falls sharply.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the same time, debt service pressures have risen and fiscal space has narrowed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite Africa spending about $145 billion every year on health, Gatete said governments contribute less than half the amount, leaving households exposed to high out-of-pocket payments.<\/p>\n

He warned that the impact is devastating for families and has long-term economic consequences for countries.<\/p>\n

\u201cAcross many countries, families sell productive assets to pay medical bills, workers exit employment and children are forced to leave school.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are not only social but macroeconomic consequences,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Gatete said the decline in donor funding should force Africa to shift its response away from short-term budgeting and towards predictable, long-term national financing.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a result, health financing cannot be an auxiliary budget line. It must be integrated into national fiscal frameworks and financed predictably, just as nations finance infrastructure, energy and security.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bridging to solutions<\/p>\n

He stressed that the shift away from donor dependency requires coordinated action beyond ministries of health.<\/p>\n

\u201cHealth sovereignty cannot be achieved by ministries of health alone. Finance, trade, industry and planning authorities must act together,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

In his proposed priorities for collective action, Gatete urged governments to integrate health financing into national development plans.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to mobilise domestic resources through more efficient, digitised tax administration, health promoting taxes and innovative instruments such as blended finance, diaspora bonds and debt for health swaps,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. Ambassador Claver Gatete, the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), has called on African countries to rethink how they finance health systems amidst a decline in global development assistance for health over the past four years. Gatete said this during a High-Level Side Event on Africa\u2019s Health Sovereignty […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":119838,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[770,9384,9357,1783,474,758,9383],"class_list":["post-119840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-africa","tag-aid-cuts","tag-au-summit","tag-financing","tag-health","tag-rwanda","tag-un-economic-commission-for-africa"],"yoast_head":"\nAmb Gatete Advocates Rethinking Health Financing in Africa - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ambassador Claver Gatete, the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), has called on African ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/amb-gatete-advocates-rethinking-health-financing-in-africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Amb Gatete Advocates Rethinking Health Financing in Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ambassador Claver Gatete, the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), has called on African ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/amb-gatete-advocates-rethinking-health-financing-in-africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-15T17:34:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-15T18:11:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1771166433.506087.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"666\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/amb-gatete-advocates-rethinking-health-financing-in-africa#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/amb-gatete-advocates-rethinking-health-financing-in-africa\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Amb Gatete Advocates Rethinking Health Financing in Africa\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-15T17:34:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-15T18:11:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/amb-gatete-advocates-rethinking-health-financing-in-africa\"},\"wordCount\":463,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/amb-gatete-advocates-rethinking-health-financing-in-africa#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1771166433.506087.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa\",\"Aid cuts\",\"AU Summit\",\"financing\",\"health\",\"Rwanda\",\"UN Economic Commission for Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/amb-gatete-advocates-rethinking-health-financing-in-africa#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/amb-gatete-advocates-rethinking-health-financing-in-africa\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/amb-gatete-advocates-rethinking-health-financing-in-africa\",\"name\":\"Amb Gatete Advocates Rethinking Health Financing in Africa - 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