May 21, 2025 (ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia): The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) through its Africa Demographic Dividend and Sexual and Reproductive Health (A2DSRH) Programme this morning kickstarted a regional workshop convening health financing experts from the Ministries of Health and Finance of the IGAD Member States and partners to align existing national health financing priorities to the existing regional efforts to build a stronger, more resilient and self-reliant health financing architecture within the IGAD region.
The Regional workshop is anchored in the decisions of the African Union Assembly and the vision of the Africa Leadership Meeting (ALM) – Investing in Health Declaration of 2019, which called for scaling up domestic resource mobilization and institutionalizing Regional Health Financing Hubs. Additionally, the African Union Assembly Decision of February 2021, Member countries were called upon to accelerate the implementation of these commitments and AUDA-NEPAD was assigned the responsibility of coordinating this mandate.
During the opening session, Mr. Mubarak Mabuya, the IGAD Chief of Staff and Interim Director for Health and Social Development Division representing the Executive Secretary of IGAD, appreciated the Member States and AUDA NEPAD for their steadfast commitment in playing a catalytic role of advancing the domestic health financing agenda to collectively shape the future of sustainable health financing in the region for strengthened and sustainable health systems across the IGAD region.
“Governments are continually demonstrating increased commitment, innovative financing approaches are being tested, and there is a growing understanding of the centrality of health investment to socio-economic development. Despite these gains, the level of financing for health in the IGAD region remains significantly below continental targets with a widened gap between needs and available resources as well as constrained fiscal space that continues to limit national health investments continually threatening our ability to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and to deliver on broader development goals” Mr. Mabuya added.
Mr. Mabuya called on the Member States to develop home-grown financing solutions toward greater domestic resource mobilization through regional solidarity and shared responsibility for sustainable and diversified regional health financing by supporting the establishment of the Regional Health Financing Hub.
The Financing Hub will not only provide Technical Assistance and policy coordination, capacity development and knowledge exchange regional advocacy but will also position IGAD to fulfil its convening mandate, empowering Member States to mobilize resources and implement priority reforms that reflect national realities and regional aspirations.
On behalf of AUDA-NEPAD), Ms. Celine Bankumuhari, the A2DSRH Senior Programme Officer reiterated that health financing challenges facing the region cannot be addressed in isolation hence requiring a coherent, harmonized, and regionally anchored Regional Health Financing Strategy.
“We commend IGAD’s leadership in steering this regional effort and recognize Member States’ commitment in shaping and leading this agenda through their priorities and reforms. We are encouraged by the progress across the continent which is a true testament regional alignment, national ownership and policy innovation as well as strengthened fiscal accountability” Ms. Bankumuhari added.
Representing the IGAD Chair, Mr. Kadar Mohammed Hassan from Ministry of Finance in his remarks highlighted; that the region stands at a pivotal stage requiring collaboration among governments, financial institutions, healthcare providers and civil society to redefine health financing funding, its assessment and delivery through the exploration of innovative financial models, sustainable funding mechanisms and strategies.
“A healthy population drives prosperity, fosters innovation, and enhances national development” Mr. Hassan said in his conclusion.
To officiate the meeting, Mr. Lelisa Amanuel, the Senior State Minister Advisor of the Federal Democratic Republic Ethiopia mentioned that the collaboration and partnership between the Ministries of Finance and Ministries of Health will pursue a range of innovative financing options tailored to the Member State national contexts further showcasing that the two authorities can work hand-in-hand to identify health financing solutions.
“Ethiopia like other Member States is navigating a complex transition of greater reliance on domestic financing while leverage existing external assistance, we are mindful of declining global support and the unpredictability of donor funding posing a significant challenge to the smooth progression where fragmented efforts will no longer suffice to drive sustainable solutions and achieve the impactful results for IGAD citizens” Mr. Amanuel emphasized.
The validation of the Regional Health Financing Strategy and Roadmap will a) Optimize resource allocation for better health outcomes across Member States; b) Enhance collaboration among countries to address shared health challenges; c) Promote sustainable domestic financing mechanisms to strengthen health systems; d) Facilitate knowledge sharing & capacity building for innovative financing solutions; e) Improve efficiency & resilience in responding to emerging health threats; and f)Respond to the current health funding landscape.
The regional meeting is bringing together as well as members of the A2DSRH Programme Coordination and staff, representatives from AUDA-NEPAD, WHO, AFIDEP, UNAIDS, UNFPA, PDD-ARO and The Global Fund and other partners and stakeholders to ensure a diverse and comprehensive engagement.
