‘Foreign aid unsustainable’ — Oluremi Tinubu seeks innovative health financing in Africa

Oluremi Tinubu, the first lady, says Africa must develop innovative financing strategies tailored to its unique challenges to achieve a robust healthcare system.

A statement on Friday by Busola Kukoyi, the senior special assistant on media to the first lady, said Oluremi spoke at a high-level meeting on domestic health financing, organised by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, during the 38th African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.

Oluremi noted that without guaranteed access to essential health delivery for Africans, the continent’s efforts to achieve economic growth will remain unsuccessful.

“Africa cannot continue to rely solely on donor funding and foreign aid, which, although helpful, are often unpredictable and unsustainable,” the statement reads.

Instead, we must develop innovative financing strategies tailored to our unique challenges and circumstances.

“Given the increasing funding gap for health on the continent, I urge us all to come together and commit to advocating for increased national health budgets.”

The first lady said that with the recent policy changes in the US, Africa must look to local and sustainable solutions to meet its funding gap.

On January 20, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order withdrawing his country from the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Trump also froze funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which supports most health institutions in Africa.

With the freeze, the World Health Organisation  (WHO) projects a stark rise in health crises within the continent.

But the president’s wife stressed the need for an efficient mobilisation and utilisation of resources for both short, medium, and long-term impact, adding that achieving a wealthy continent is dependent on the health of the people.

“In line with the Abuja Declaration, our governments should allocate at least 15% of their budgetary allocations to health,” Oluremi said.

“We must also support innovative financing mechanisms and explore sustainable models, such as expanding health insurance coverage, health endowment funds, and investments from the African diaspora.

“Accountability and transparency must be ensured, as funds allocated to health must be used efficiently and effectively.”

The event had presidents and heads of state of some African countries, including Rwanda, Ethiopia, Botswana, Kenya, Senegal, Zimbabwe, and Barbados, donor agencies, and funding partners explore the global and regional perspectives on domestic health financing in the continent.