The global south, particularly Africa, has remained at a disadvantage over the global north regarding healthcare. The significant issues Africa faces are its lack of access to quality healthcare, and poor health outcomes, especially for children.
Africa isn’t the only continent in need of development and help, but certainly, one that deserves mention for global health security.
The global south, particularly Africa, remains at a disadvantage
The global south has remained at a disadvantage over the global north regarding access to quality healthcare, technology, and less financing for health.
The reasons for this are manifold:
Political instability
Lack of resources (including human capital)
Lack of training opportunities
Poor quality health services
Weak governance structures that undermine public accountability
While Africa is not the only continent in need of development, it is certainly one that deserves to be mentioned and remembered. Africa is home to 1.2 billion people, making it the second most populated continent after Asia. However, despite this growth rate being higher than in any other part of the world—much work still needs to be done for Africa to attain sustainable development goals. According to TICAD, 35 million Africans suffer catastrophic expenditures yearly in seeking health care, and a further 14 million are steeped into poverty from out-of-pocket expenses for healthcare.
Some foreign aid models for healthcare support often create an uneven playing field between health programs. Therefore, it is essential for all players: global north countries who provide aid, African nations who receive these funds, African citizens whom they impact, and international communities to work together toward improved health outcomes for all involved parties across borders.
Africa is also excluded from science and innovation. It has the highest number of people with no access to primary healthcare, yet it has one of the lowest rates of investment in research and development (R&D) per capita.
In addition to these challenges, there are structural obstacles to African scientific advancement, such as a lack of resources or financial support for scientists, high staff turnover levels, limited equipment access due to poor infrastructure, and poor collaboration between researchers from different countries.
Technological advancements in healthcare have taken over in the global north while Africa lags. The global north has been working on several technologies to improve healthcare, but African countries have not been able to benefit from these advancements. It is argued that Africa is being excluded from science and innovation altogether due to its lack of intellectual capital.
For Africans to compete with those who live outside our continent, we need access to these technologies, enabling us to compete on an equal footing within our respective societies.
Diseases and lack of access to quality healthcare- setbacks to African development
Malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and other communicable diseases have been the major setback to development in Africa. These diseases are a significant cause of death and disability in Africa. They are also a substantial threat to global health security due to their potential for pandemics that can spread rapidly throughout the world. In this regard, we must empower Africa with tools to counter these threats for the sake of the global good.
Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest neonatal mortality rate in the world and contributes to close to half (43%) of global newborn deaths. An estimated 40 percent of children under five years suffer from stunted growth due to malnutrition. The African Region accounted for 66% of the 303,000 global maternal deaths in 2017. Life expectancy is only 48 years for men and just 36 years for women, compared with 72 years for men and 63 years for women globally. In addition, the health worker-to-patient ratios and midwives/practitioners available at hospitals or clinics across rural areas where most people live have remained below the recommendations of the WHO. A small proportion of Africa’s population has access to financial risk protection against catastrophic healthcare expenditure. As a result, many people cannot afford illness or accident-related costs. This is especially true for low-income households who cannot pay for healthcare because most live on less than a dollar daily.
It also makes it very difficult for people with chronic diseases requiring long-term management, which can be expensive.
African expertise and solutions for African problems
African expertise is vital to steering our healthcare forward in Africa because only lived experiences can inform expertise. Unfortunately, African scientists are not getting the funding they need to do their work, nor are they receiving the recognition or support they deserve. African experts must be at the forefront of knowledge sharing in global health meetings and not subject to humiliation by the host countries. The passport discrimination we have seen meted out to top African Healthcare leaders such as Dr. Ahmed Ogwell Ouma (Director- Africa CDC) and Winnie Byanyima (Executive Director- UNAIDS) must be condemned to the highest degree to allow African voices in the decision-making rooms. Africans must be included in global health research and given opportunities for input into the design of policies or programs.
African governments need to take stake and responsibility for their healthcare systems to help Africans access health, economic, social, and cultural rights. Government should be the first to take responsibility for healthcare systems, as it is the most vulnerable sector in any society. It is equally important for African states to ensure that all relevant stakeholders are involved in decision-making processes related to policy formulation for the overall institutionalization of Universal Health Coverage. Additionally, local African philanthropic efforts must be scaled up to ensure that our ingrown resources are tapped into for sustainable health financing for the continent.
As health professionals, we may think that finding solutions to African problems is a tall order. After all, the continent has been plagued by disease and poverty for centuries, so how can we solve these problems? The answer is simple: solutions are more effective when developed using human-centered design, with the user in mind. We know best what solutions suit the continent.
Conclusion- Global health for all
There must be a paradigm shift in Global health and how that is practiced in Africa. The global health agenda should include the voices of all people who are affected by it and not just those who hold power or influence over global health issues. We can do this through reshaping funding models, active participation of African healthcare leaders and researchers, and involvement of Africans and their governments in decision-making for Africa. In this way, the Global Health agenda will benefit everyone worldwide.
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