NEW YORK – African Heads of State and Government convened global leaders on Wednesday at a high-level event on the margins of the 80th United Nations General Assembly, sounding the alarm on escalating threats to global health security.
Convened under the theme “Uniting for Global Health Security”, the joint event brought together the Global Leaders Network for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health, chaired by H.E. President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, and the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA), chaired by President Advocate Duma Gideon Boko of Botswana. Discussions were moderated by the Rt Hon. Helen Clark, chair of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health and former prime minister of New Zealand.
Amid growing concern over stagnating progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals for health, leaders called for urgent financial commitments, stronger partnerships, and bold, united action to protect the world’s most vulnerable, including women, children, and adolescents, from preventable diseases such as malaria.
“The fight against malaria is becoming increasingly complex,” said President Advocate Duma Gideon Boko. “Shrinking budgets, rising biological resistance, humanitarian crises, and the impact of climate change are all contributing towards creating a perfect storm of challenges,” he added.
Funding declines threaten progress
Recent years have seen a dramatic erosion of official development assistance (ODA) for health, with African leaders warning that life-saving programmes risk collapse in the absence of urgent and sustained financing. Between 2021 and 2025 alone, ODA for health in Africa declined by an estimated 70%, even as widening equity gaps, conflict, and displacement have expanded both needs and vulnerability.
H.E. President Cyril Ramaphosa highlighted the impact of these cuts, “essential programmes to eliminate malaria have been compromised. This leaves millions without care and erodes decades of progress that has been made so far.”
A successful Global Fund Replenishment is vital
Leaders reiterated support for the upcoming 8th replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which aims to raise US$18 billion at its November 2025 conference. The Global Fund, established in 2002, has been central to progress against the three diseases, saving more than 70 million lives. Leaders stressed that the upcoming replenishment is critical, not only to sustain momentum but also to prevent a reversal of hard-won gains amid rising threats.
The ALMA chair issued a rallying call on the upcoming replenishment, “I call on all countries and donors to invest boldly in the Global Fund replenishment. If we all come together, we will save 23 million lives from malaria, AIDS and TB, while strengthening our health systems.”
Strengthening national ownership, innovative resource mobilisation and local manufacturing
While underscoring the importance of global solidarity, the African leaders noted that African ownership and accountability must be at the centre of the response, with H.E. President William Ruto of the Republic of Kenya saying “the future of Africa health financing lies in our own hands. Encouragingly, across the continent, change is already underway.”
Through initiatives like national End Malaria Councils and Funds, countries are embracing innovative financing approaches to expand the pool of resources for malaria, with 11 African countries already having mobilised over US$166 million, illustrating the power of multi-sectoral collaboration.
At the same time, African leaders recommended tried and tested innovations, calling for the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) to set up a 2nd Malaria Booster Programme. The first malaria booster program (phase I and phase II) between 2005 and 2015 saw millions invested in malaria control and millions of cases prevented and lives saved. This vital programme helped “reinforce local health systems, such as community health workers, and enhance data systems and surveillance” said H.E. Muhammed B.S Jallow, vice president of the Republic of The Gambia.
With the recent IDA21 replenishment, there’s an opportunity to deliver a similar programme to address the challenges we face today, with the ALMA chair, President Advocate Duma Gideon Boko saying, “as ALMA, we are calling on the World Bank International Development Association to establish a second Malaria Booster Programme.” he said.
A push for national ownership was made by Dr Sania Nishtar, CEO of GAVI, who said “we strongly believe countries and not global health institutions should be at the centre of global health.” Dr Nishtar highlighted GAVI’s African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator which she said “promotes African self-reliance in vaccine manufacturing.” The GAVI CEO also shared that the vaccine alliance is “implementing the fastest vaccine rollout in Gavi’s 25-year history” with the introduction of malaria vaccines across 23 African countries, with early evidence showing a 13% drop in all-cause child mortality in vaccinated areas.
The need for public-private partnerships to deliver sustainable financing
Leaders called for the establishment of a Public-Private Partnership Health Accelerator to respond to declining traditional funding, with President Advocate Duma Gideon Boko encouraging fellow leaders to “think bigger and cast our net wider to mobilise even more resources to respond to the critical health challenges.”
This partnership will deliver new investments and drive progress toward universal health coverage. The accelerator is expected to leverage partnerships with the private sector, philanthropic foundations, high networth individuals and the diaspora, whilst reinforcing domestic commitments.
“We need a private-public partnership health accelerator that will drive whole-of-society progress towards the SDGs through sustainable high-value investments,” shared the ALMA chair.
This call for public private partnerships was endorsed by fellow leaders, with the vice president of the Republic of the Gambia saying these partnerships “can help us deliver sustainable financing at this critical moment and lead our continent to prosperity.”
The Big Push against Malaria
Earlier this year, the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) unveiled a bold strategy to transform health financing across the continent amidst the volatile and ever-evolving global financing landscape. This momentum was amplified in Abuja with the launch of the “Big Push” to End Malaria in early September, placing malaria elimination at the heart of Africa’s health and development agenda. Building on this, African leaders at the UN General Assembly called for a paradigm shift in investments to sustain the fight against malaria and broader health challenges across the continent.
The joint event signalled renewed determination to confront overlapping crises with urgency, innovation, and unity, with H.E Dr Jean Kaseya, Director General of the Africa-Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, urging leaders to continue to turn these crises into opportunities to “start to raise sustainable financing, to build our own data system owned by the continent, to start to manufacture our own vaccines, medicines, and to build strong surveillance system. Now Africa is leading the world.”
As African countries moves towards greater ownership of our health systems and development agenda, Professor Senait Fisseha, a champion of sexual and reproductive health rights encouraged leaders to “to ensure it reflect our values, what we believe and is right, and is needed for our people” so that “we can create a continent in which every woman, every girl, every child can live to her fullest potential.”
“Together, let us rise to this moment. Let us prove that resilient health systems are the cornerstone of dignity, security and prosperity,” said H.E. President William Ruto of the Republic of Kenya at the conclusion of his remarks, echoing ALMA chair, President Advocate Duma Gideon Boko who said “we can make malaria elimination a reality. We can deliver a healthy tomorrow for women, babies, children and adolescents. The time to start is now.”
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