At the Africa Health Sovereignty Summit in Accra on Tuesday, August 5, 2025, former President Olusegun Obasanjo put forward a visionary plan to establish an Africa Health Fund. Alongside calls to harness traditional medicine, he urged African nations to seize control of their health future and reduce reliance on external aid.
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Launch an African Health Fund: Modeled after the African Union’s Peace Fund, the new fund would support health infrastructure and pandemic preparedness continent‑wide.
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$100 Flight Levy for Seed Capital: Tourism flights into and out of Africa (excluding intra‑African travel) would incur a $100 fee. The proceeds would initially seed the fund, with administration handled by the African Development Bank.
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National Health Insurance Allocation: Obasanjo recommended that at least 25% of health insurance funds in African countries be directed toward building resilient health systems and essential infrastructure.
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Traditional Medicine Integration: Highlighting that ~80% of pharmaceuticals have herbal origins, he encouraged community‑level health strategies that incorporate traditional therapies.
Drawing on his experience as an AU envoy to the Horn of Africa, Obasanjo recounted how reliance on foreign donors delayed critical mediation efforts in Ethiopia and the DRC. The AU Peace Fund provided a faster solution—illustrating how a health fund could dramatically improve response times for health emergencies
He stressed:
“If we can mobilize funds quickly for peace efforts, we can certainly do the same for health.”
Obasanjo argued that health should be viewed not as a financial burden but as a strategic investment in national development and security. He coined the slogan “Africa Health Without Aid”, emphasizing African ownership complemented by equitable global partnerships
The summit—part of the Accra Initiative—gathered current and former African leaders, health advocates, and international partners around a shared vision: restructuring global health governance in favor of African priorities. Obasanjo’s proposals align with efforts to reposition Africa as a proactive architect in health policymaking.
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