12/12/2025
This , we reflect on the work driving countries closer to universal access to care.
Day comes with renewed calls for governments to match commitments with financing and increase domestic investment in health.
In a Devex Op-ed, MSH’s Dr. Justice Nonvignon, Technical Director for Health Economics and Financing and Dr. William Nii Ayitey Menson, The ONE Campaign, Director of Health Financing for Africa, argue that while declarations, compacts, and commitments toward increased domestic health financing are crucial, action in delivering on them is what truly impacts the lives of African populations. As they put it, “𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭, 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐯𝐮𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞.”
The authors note that on a continent with severely underfunded health systems, promises will remain on paper without the critical step of allocating more resources for health. Reflecting on this year’s Day theme, “Unaffordable health costs? We are sick of it,” they write that millions of Africans are looking for action, not more commitments.
They call for innovations in digital payments, mobile wallets, and financial technology, as well as tapping into opportunities from diaspora remittances, which mobilized over $90 billion in 2023 for a continent that receives less than this amount in aid.
Menson and Nonvignon conclude by writing, “𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐔𝐇𝐂 𝐃𝐚𝐲, 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.”
Read the full piece ➡️ : https://msh.org/media-coverage/
