Posted on: Tue 03-06-2025

A new call to action is echoing across the African continent—one that challenges its leaders to reclaim ownership of their future. At the Ibrahim Governance Weekend in Marrakech, WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus delivered not just a speech, but a provocation: the era of aid dependency must end.

This is not a dismissal of international support, but a demand for dignified development—one that aligns with African priorities, strengthens national systems, and redefines the power dynamics in global health financing. "We cannot look to others to solve our problems," Tedros declared. That message, simple but profound, is one that Africa must heed now more than ever.

Too often, external aid becomes a substitute for local leadership and strategic investment. It arrives earmarked for donor-driven projects, bypassing national systems and leaving behind fragile institutions. This is a model that perpetuates vulnerability, not resilience. Tedros’s message cuts through the noise: Africa needs partners, not patrons.

In his words, the true difference between crisis and opportunity is leadership—not just from the top, but across every layer of society. The call is for a mindset shift: from short-term fixes to long-term vision; from externally dictated agendas to homegrown solutions; from survival mode to sustainable progress.

But this shift cannot be one-sided. International lenders must step up as well. When African countries are forced to pay higher interest rates than wealthy nations, the system is neither fair nor functional. Economic justice must be part of the conversation about health equity. Concessional, responsible lending is not charity—it’s the baseline for global cooperation.

Tedros also drew attention to the Lusaka Agenda’s principle of “One plan, one budget, one report”—a blueprint for coordinated, accountable development. It’s a strategy rooted in sovereignty, not subservience. And WHO, he affirmed, stands ready to work alongside African nations to build systems that serve people first, not donors.

But even as we talk about health financing, Tedros reminded the world of something even more fundamental: peace. Without it, he said, “nothing else will make a difference.” His recent visit to Sudan and the refugee crisis in Chad revealed a tragic truth—conflict doesn’t just destroy infrastructure; it devastates health systems, denies vaccines, and costs lives.

In places wracked by war, cholera, measles, malaria, dengue, diphtheria, and polio are not statistics—they are everyday realities. In such conditions, health workers are soldiers on the front lines, and the most powerful medicine becomes a ceasefire.

As Africans and global citizens, we must internalize this call: health is not a cost—it is an investment. In people. In stability. In growth. And above all, in dignity.

Africa doesn’t need handouts. It needs a bold, unified vision. And it needs the world to treat it as an equal partner in shaping that vision. The moment is urgent. The direction is clear.

The question is: will we rise to it?

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