The Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Winnie Byanyima, has called for a radical shift in Africa’s approach to healthcare financing, urging governments across the continent to increase domestic investment in health following significant cuts in international aid.
Speaking on the sidelines of the African Union Health Summit in Accra, Ghana, Byanyima said Africa must move swiftly toward health sovereignty by prioritising healthcare spending, strengthening local systems, and expanding the production of essential medicines.
Her remarks come after major reductions in foreign assistance from several Western countries, including the United States, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. According to Byanyima, UNAIDS lost about 25 per cent of its funding last year following the dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a move that has disrupted health programmes worldwide.
She warned that Africa, which bears the highest burden of HIV infections globally, cannot afford to delay reforms. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 64 per cent of people living with HIV worldwide, while 60 per cent of new infections recorded last year occurred on the continent.
Byanyima urged African governments to reallocate resources more efficiently, strengthen domestic healthcare financing, and invest in local pharmaceutical production to sustain progress in the fight against HIV and other diseases.
She also expressed concern over increasing restrictions on the rights of people living with HIV and members of the LGBTQ+ community in some African countries, warning that discrimination and criminalisation could discourage vulnerable populations from accessing testing, prevention, and treatment services.
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