Africa’s health leaders are meeting in Accra with a warning that the continent can no longer afford slow progress on AIDS, tuberculosis and maternal deaths. The summit comes as African governments face mounting pressure to build stronger health systems, boost local medicine production and protect families from preventable illness.

Summit focus

The African Union Extraordinary Summit in Accra is centred on ending AIDS and tuberculosis, reducing preventable maternal deaths and strengthening health systems across the continent. Leaders are also discussing local pharmaceutical manufacturing, community-based primary healthcare and ways to meet Africa’s 2030 health targets.

Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh said the challenge is now urgent, not abstract. He argued that Africa has made gains against HIV and AIDS, but major gaps remain in maternal health, universal coverage and health financing.

Maternal deaths concern

Mr Akandoh said Africa still accounts for nearly 70 per cent of global maternal deaths, with close to 200,000 women dying each year from preventable causes. He said the scale of the loss shows why leaders must focus on practical solutions rather than repeated promises.

“No woman should have to risk her life simply because she chose to give life,” he said.

He added that millions of families still face impossible choices between paying for healthcare and meeting basic needs, because health coverage remains far below global standards in many African countries.

Three priorities

The minister called for three urgent steps: greater domestic financing for health systems, stronger capacity to produce medicines and vaccines locally, and a bigger role for primary healthcare in everyday service delivery. He said these measures are essential if the continent is to reduce dependence on external support and become more resilient.

He also said the summit’s success will be judged not by speeches or declarations, but by results on the ground. That, he said, means fewer maternal deaths, fewer preventable diseases and fewer families pushed into poverty by medical costs.

What comes next

Heads of State and Government are expected to continue the discussions at the African Union Assembly, where health priorities are likely to be adopted and further shaped. The decisions taken in Accra could influence how African countries finance health care, manufacture medicines and respond to future outbreaks.

The broader message from the summit is clear: Africa’s health future will depend on stronger institutions, more local investment and faster action.

By Blessed EDUAMOAH DADZIE