Africa requires $4.3bn annually to fund community health workers - FG. African governments and international development partners have called for increased domestic funding, better pay and formal recognition for community health workers as efforts intensify to deploy two million workers across the continent by 2030. The call was made on Wednesday at the opening of a three-day high-level forum on community health workers in Abuja, where participants stressed that Africa could struggle to achieve Universal Health Coverage without a well-trained, adequately equipped and sustainably funded workforce. Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Salako, disclosed that Africa had about 1.36 million community health workers as of May 2026, leaving the continent short of its target of two million by 2030. He said, "Only 68 per cent of African Union member states formally recognised community health workers as part of their national health workforce, while only about half paid them through government budget lines." Salako added that about 85 per cent of African countries still depended on donors to finance at least half of their community health worker programmes. He said, "Estimates indicated that about $4.3 billion annually would be required to support the workforce, with an estimated $19 in economic and social returns for every dollar invested." The minister said Nigeria had approximately 83,000 community health workers and was taking steps to strengthen primary healthcare through the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, national workforce planning and improved domestic funding. He urged participating countries to develop fully costed implementation plans, establish measurable targets and secure funding commitments that could be reflected in their national budgets. Salako also called on development partners to align their support with countries' priorities, work through existing national systems and provide reliable long-term assistance without shifting governments' financial responsibilities to donors. Representing member states, Dr. Richard Kabanda of Uganda's health promotion sector described community health workers as essential to immunisation, maternal and child healthcare, screening for non-communicable diseases and community outreach programmes. He advocated their formal inclusion in national health workforce frameworks, alongside standardised training, effective management structures and continent-wide policies to improve healthcare delivery. A UNICEF representative, Helga Fogstad, said community health workers should serve as the first point of contact for patients rather than being treated as the last mile of healthcare delivery. She identified fair wages, supportive supervision, access to essential supplies, digital tools, career development and greater community ownership as priorities for strengthening the workforce. Fogstad also reaffirmed UNICEF's continued support for incorporating community health workers into national health plans, budgets and monitoring systems. Juliet Odogwu of Africa Frontline First (AFF), representing its champion, former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, reaffirmed the organisation's commitment to the African Union's target of two million community health workers and the professionalisation of 200,000 workers by 2030, in partnership with Africa CDC. She said more than 100,000 workers had been formalised since 2023 through partnerships involving governments and development organisations. She also urged countries to prepare investment proposals and sustainable financing strategies to support the expansion. The Head of Delegation of the Red Cross/Red Crescent, Dr. Asha Mohammed, highlighted the contributions of community volunteers to the early detection of health threats, risk communication and emergency response. She called on governments to integrate community-based workers into national healthcare systems and strengthen cooperation and trust between health authorities and the communities they serve. Meanwhile, Amref Health Africa, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, presented research findings involving approximately 155 community health workers and young people across five African countries. The organisation's representative, Mieko McKay, identified delayed salaries, limited career advancement and inadequate institutional support as major challenges affecting staff retention. "In Malawi, some health surveillance assistants reportedly experienced salary delays of up to three months," she said. McKay stressed that expanding recruitment alone would not solve workforce shortages unless governments also created better working conditions to retain personnel. The Director-General of the Africa Centre for Disease Control, represented by Prof. Aliko Baba Ahmed, called for stronger health systems, improved emergency preparedness, reliable domestic financing, expanded digital healthcare and increased local production of medicines and vaccines. He cautioned against excessive dependence on foreign donors, arguing that health sovereignty required African countries to take greater responsibility for financing and managing their healthcare systems while maintaining equitable international partnerships. The three-day forum is expected to conclude with an Abuja roadmap and commitments designed to accelerate progress towards Universal Health Coverage across Africa. Sharing is Caring: Facebook 0

Health experts urge Kenya to tighten border surveillance amid Ebola outbreak. Xinhua 22 Oct 2026, 20:21 GMT+ NAIROBI, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) - Health experts on Wednesday urged Kenyan authorities to prioritize enhanced border surveillance, rapid contact tracing, early warning systems, and stronger protection for frontline healthcare workers to prevent the further spread of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. "We must fill gaps in border surveillance, identify suspected cases and connect them to appropriate care. Early identification should prioritize patient safety and prevention of further transmission," Githinji Gitahi, global chief executive officer of Amref Health Africa, said during the closing of the Africa Health Collaborative Annual Convening 2026. The call comes after the Ministry of Health said on Tuesday that Kenya's confirmed cases had risen to nine, including one death, and that all of them belong to a single cluster with no evidence of transmission beyond it. During the five-day conference, discussions focused on overcoming mounting challenges across the continent, including recurrent disease outbreaks, tightening fiscal constraints, and critical skill shortages. Patrick Amoth, director-general for health in the Ministry of Health, said on Tuesday that all eight surviving patients are receiving appropriate supportive care from specialized medical teams. He said the public health authorities have successfully traced and quarantined 134 out of 135 identified contacts connected to the cluster. He clarified that zero secondary transmission has occurred within quarantine facilities, as health officials continue to refine infection prevention and control protocols at dedicated treatment centers. Gitahi stressed that building a resilient, community-centered healthcare system is crucial to protecting citizens from the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. "Strengthening primary healthcare would improve access to timely services like treatment and prevent Ebola virus from spreading within communities," Gitahi said. Joachim Osur, vice chancellor of Amref International University, emphasized that strengthening Kenya's public health security through technology, innovation, sustainable financing, research, and specialized training holds the key to an effective response to the Ebola threat. According to Osur, leveraging advanced digital tools and modern healthcare innovations will allow authorities to enhance patient tracking, early identification, and clinical management while effectively severing transmission chains.

CALL FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST waterstarters franchisees for sustainable water enterprises in Kajiado, Makueni, machakos and kitui counties. About Amref Health Africa. Amref Health Africa was founded in 1957 and has grown into the largest Africa-based international health development organisation. It runs more than 180 programmes reaching over 40 million people across 35 African countries, with a workforce of more than 2,000 staff. Headquartered in Nairobi, it has country offices in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Guinea (Conakry), Kenya, Malawi, Senegal, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, supported by eleven advocacy and fundraising offices in Europe and North America. Amref's vision is 'Lasting health change in Africa'. Its mission is to catalyse community-led, people-centred health systems while tackling the social determinants of health. Amref believes the power to transform health in Africa lies within its communities. It works to make sure health systems function well and that communities are empowered to hold them accountable for quality, affordable care. About waterstarters. Safe water, sanitation and hygiene are among the most important of these determinants. WaterStarters is one of the ways Amref puts this approach into practice. It is an enterprise-driven initiative implemented by Amref Health Africa in Kenya in partnership with The Poul Due Jensen Foundation and County Governments. It helps local entrepreneurs and organisations own and run commercially viable, climate-resilient water enterprises in rural and peri-urban communities through a franchise model. The programme currently supports a network of franchised water schemes in Kajiado and Makueni counties, serving more than 70,000 people. Its goal is to reach 1.5 million Kenyans with safe water by 2035.