Speaking for parliamentarians from 11 African countries, Hon. Lilani Brinkman, a Namibian Member of Parliament, framed preventable maternal deaths as a leadership issue, not just health. “We already know what works, Midwives can provide 90% of all essential reproductive, maternal and newborn, child and adolescent health services”. She argued for countries to invest in recruiting, training and retaining them, “because investing in midwives, is investing in saving lives.” she said, pointing to workforce investment as one of the known solutions to accelerate progress.

Brinkman presented joint parliamentary commitments to achieving Every Woman, Every Newborn Everywhere targets. They pledged to advocate for dedicated financing to ensure life-saving maternal and newborn commodities reach underserved populations. They also resolved to strengthening regional collaboration through pooled procurement and market-shaping mechanisms to improve affordability and expand access.

Central to the commitments, Hon. Brinkman recommended achieving the Abuja Declaration target of allocating at least 15 percent of national budgets to health. She cautioned against returning home without action.

“We cannot continue to gather in conferences, speak passionately, and then return home unchanged. This must be the turning point.”

~ Hon. Lilani Brinkman

In his closing speech, the Principal Secretary, State Department for Medical Services Kenya, Dr. Ouma Oluga, shifted attention to what he described as the most critical weakness in maternal and newborn health systems. This is the widening gap between what is planned and what is implemented on the ground. “Preventable maternal and neonatal deaths is the greatest indictment of any healthcare system and the best indicator of health system performance,” he said, noting that “we must do everything to reverse these trends.”

He called for building stronger accountability systems across governments, health workforce, and development partners, urging a shift away from process-driven financing toward measurable impact. “In the past, we have done health financing for reports, not for results. Conference after conference, we’ve presented very good reports of the work that we’ve done, even when we have not made actual progress and this has left a gap” Oluga noted.

The conversations at IMNHC 2026 emphasised that reducing maternal and newborn deaths will depend less on new strategies and more on execution. The discussions pointed toward aligning political commitment with measurable delivery where financing follows impact, data drives accountability, and partnerships reinforce national priorities. If this momentum continues beyond Nairobi, the conference may help turn shared ambition into real improvements in care and survival for women and children across Africa.

Presenting the global overview of maternal and newborn health, Dr Allisyn Moran, Unit Head for Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal and Newborn Health at the World Health Organization, outlined the scope of the challenge. “In 2023, we had 4.5 million deaths, and we still have 4.5 million deaths of women during pregnancy and childbirth, as well as newborns and stillbirths,” she said, noting that “progress has really not accelerated since 2015/2016.”

She reminded delegates of the 90-90-80-80 targets introduced in 2023, which focus on antenatal care, skilled birth attendance, early postnatal care, and access to emergency services.

“These targets have been the driving force behind the different work that’s been going on at country level, Yet, we’re still far from the targets that we were hoping to achieve by 2030”

~ Dr Allisyn Moran

On the importance of equity and quality, Dr Allisyn stressed that coverage alone is not enough, highlighting the need for strong health systems, a skilled workforce, reliable commodities, and actionable data as essential building blocks for progress.

Building on this, Dr Gagan Gupta, Unit Lead, Maternal and Newborn Health, UNICEF, shared early EWENE-CSA 2026 findings. He noted that although many countries have strengthened policies and data systems, these gains have yet to translate into real improvements for maternal and newborn outcomes. “The progress is mixed,” he explained. “We have strong frameworks on paper, but coverage of essential services and reductions in mortality remain frustratingly slow.” This message points to a critical disconnect between planning and implementation, showing that policy advances alone are not enough without effective delivery on the ground.

Dr Gupta further noted gaps in financing and implementation identified in the report. “Countries said that they have a maternal and newborn health plan, but only 15% of them have it fully financed,” he said, adding that high-impact interventions such as emergency obstetric care and care for small and sick newborns “are very much underfunded and under prioritised.”

Despite these challenges, Dr Gupta acknowledged policy gains.

“We have seen major gains in policy shifts. Last time we reported, 59% of countries said they had moved to eight antenatal care visits. Now, 83% of countries have made that shift. Similarly, the proportion of countries with a birth companion policy has increased from 54% to 78%, and for postnatal care, a marked improvement has been noticed,” he said.

Ahead of the 2026 World Health Assembly where the final report will be presented, the focus is shifting from what must be done to how quickly and equitably commitments can be turned into measurable improvements for women and newborns.

Despite years of global commitments, from maternal health action plans to universal health coverage agendas, progress has remained uneven. Speakers pointed to systems that are not delivering at scale, with inefficiencies, fragmented planning, and weak coordination undermining progress.

In his speech, Africa CDC Director General, Dr Jean Kaseya, emphasised that Africa is at a defining moment, shifting the conversation away from technical fixes to something more political and urgent.

“Africa is facing its own defining moment. We are confronted with an unacceptable maternal neonatal mortality rate...It’s not just a health issue… For me, it’s a justice issue, a development issue, a sovereignty issue. A continent that cannot protect its mothers and children cannot claim full sovereignty over its future”

~ Dr Jean Kaseya

Kaseya proposed a “New Deal” for maternal and child health in Africa. It was a call for system-wide transformation rather than incremental change, tied to a broader continental vision of health security and sovereignty, built on domestic financing, stronger primary healthcare systems, digital infrastructure, and local manufacturing of essential commodities.

The shift from commitment to execution was echoed in the opening remarks delivered on behalf of Kenya’s President, Dr William Ruto, by Cabinet Secretary for Health, Hon. Aden Duale, who positioned the country as a testing ground for what accelerated delivery could look like.

“We are rolling out the Rapid Results Initiative to accelerate reductions in maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality,” he said. “The RRI is about urgency… tracking results in real time, and delivering measurable change where it matters most.”

Duale pointed to Kenya’s expanding Social Health Authority, investments in primary healthcare, and a growing digital health system as examples of how policy is being translated into practice particularly by reducing financial barriers and improving access to care.

Together, the messages from the opening plenary reflected a broader shift in African health policy. Maternal and newborn health is no longer being framed solely as a sectoral issue, but as a test of governance, financing, and state capacity. From universal health coverage to domestic resource mobilisation, from digital systems to local manufacturing, the agenda outlined in Nairobi ties maternal survival to the continent’s wider push for health sovereignty.

The Summit opened with Ghana’s Minister of Health, Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, welcoming delegates by framing the summit as a launchpad for action rather than another stop on the conference circuit. “This gathering is more than an annual event. It is a call to mobilise strategic investment, forge meaningful alliances and accelerate the emergence of world class resilient healthcare systems across the continent,” he said. His opening address painted a bold picture of Africa’s health landscape in 2050, where population growth becomes a competitive advantage if backed by strong reforms, regional manufacturing hubs, and proper technology transfer.

Ghana’s Minister of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, in her statement titled “Made in Africa, Saving Africa” argued that the continent’s long-term health security depends on producing what it consumes. For too long, Africa has relied on distant suppliers for medicines and medical technologies, a dependency that drains resources and magnifies vulnerability. She urged leaders and investors to focus on six enablers: transparent policies and regulatory frameworks, modern infrastructure and capacity building, long-term financing and smart partnerships, regional integration, innovation and technology transfer, and sustainability. The goal, she stressed, is to build “world-class local health manufacturing ecosystems” capable of serving African needs first.

The session continued with the President of Ghana, H.E John Dramani Mahama, who took the stage to deliver his keynote address, not just as a statesman, but as a voice for Africa’s health future and sovereignty.

“Health systems are being redesigned, supply chains are being rewired, and new geopolitical realities are forcing every region to rethink the issue of resilience. These transformations present both a challenge and an opportunity, but the truth is simple, Africa cannot afford to be a bystander. Africa must be a participant across our continent”

~ President John Dramani Mahama

President Mahama reminded delegates that the continent still carries deep inequities, fragile supply chains, and insufficient investment in primary healthcare, vulnerabilities that were exposed during COVID-19, when Africa was often the last to receive critical support.

A shared concern among the speakers was the challenge of structural dependency and long-term under-investment as they acknowledged how global market shocks repeatedly expose Africa’s inability to manufacture what it needs, when it needs it.

The real test, however, will be whether the alliances formed at WHX 2025 translates into the implementation, financing, and infrastructure that can anchor a truly resilient health future in Africa.

In her opening remarks, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Executive Director Diene Keita offered an important reminder:

“Family planning is not only a matter of health, it is a matter of rights. When women and adolescent girls have access to contraceptives, their pregnancies are more likely to be planned and safe, they are more likely to complete school, be employed and fulfil their potential, their children are healthier, and their societies are more prosperous.”

She warned that despite nearly one billion women using modern contraception today, progress is fragile—particularly for those displaced by conflict, living in poverty, or facing climate shocks. These inequities, she argued, demand faster, bolder action.

The urgency of this echoed throughout the youth pre-conference, where young advocates pushed for communities to interrogate its own habits. In a session led by Reproductive Health Advocates, Esenam Amuzu and Goodness Ogeyi Odey, participants were asked to take what they called an “Equity Pause” — a deliberate moment to examine whether their work in advocacy, communication, programming policymaking or budgeting leaves anyone behind. It was a simple idea with uncomfortable implications: equity cannot remain a theme for panels; it must be embedded in how decisions are made, how programmes are designed, and who is allowed to contribute to them.

At the heart of these discussions was a shared recognition of the pressures African countries face. Years of heavy dependence on external donors have left family planning programmes vulnerable to fluctuations in political priorities and global financing. As support declines, governments are forced to confront difficult questions about sustainability, domestic resource mobilisation, and the true meaning of health sovereignty. The pushbacks in the reproductive health space, from funding restrictions to gag rules and shrinking civic freedoms, only heighten the stakes.

For African policymakers, advocates, and practitioners, the message from Bogotá was clear: the path forward will require smarter investments, strategic integration of services, and procurement systems that maximise returns in tight fiscal environments. It will also demand more intentional communication and the active involvement of people most affected by reproductive health policies. These are not abstract aspirations; they are the practical ingredients of equity.

If there was a unifying thread at ICFP 2025, it was that the continent cannot afford for equity to remain a buzzword. As countries push toward self-reliance, their success will hinge on whether equity becomes the organising principle for decisions made long after the conference halls empty — in clinics, community rooms, budget offices, and national assemblies across Africa. Because at the end of the day, equity is something you do, not something you say.

Dr. Amit Thakker, Executive Chairman at Africa Health Business, opened with a clear call:

“Health care doesn’t begin at the hospital; it begins at home.”

He noted that roughly 70% of outpatient ailments could be avoided, pointing to prevention and early detection as the most cost-effective tools for better population health. Dr. Thakker pushed beyond the usual calls for more money to argue for smarter, more context-sensitive financing: strategic allocation that prioritises prevention, removes geographic barriers, and extends services, equipment and trained personnel beyond urban centres.

With Official Development Assistance declining, Dr. Thakker urged countries to innovate domestically. He proposed bespoke, country-level health bonds, citizen-driven instruments designed to generate resilient, transparent financing for primary care, and appealed for private sector commitments, notably the idea that even 1% of corporate profits channelled to health could be transformative. He also advocated for crowdsourced platforms to democratise contributions to community health and for socially responsible corporations to embed health equity into their core missions.

Dr. Christine Kaseba, Former First Lady of Zambia, shifted the conversation to people-centred care for women, adolescents and children. Challenging narrow definitions of “women’s health,” she emphasised that care must span adolescence, pregnancy, motherhood, menopause and the years beyond. Even with maternal mortality rates declining from 727 to 441 deaths per 100,000 live births, Africa still accounts for about 70% of global maternal deaths. In 2023, 77% of adolescent girls with HIV globally were in Africa, highlighting persistent vulnerabilities.

Dr. Kaseba argued that the drivers of poor health outcomes are systemic: weak and costly PHC, fragmented vertical programmes, workforce shortages and burnout, low community engagement, and systems that fail to respect cultural contexts. Her prescription is practical: shift to community-centred, human-centred PHC; invest in community health workers and mid-level providers; integrate maternal, newborn, child and adolescent services; scale digital tools for better data and decision-making; and mobilise domestic resources while strengthening local manufacturing of essential commodities. Most importantly, she said, mothers, adolescents and children must be partners, not merely beneficiaries, in designing the systems that serve them.

Dr. Mazyanga Lucy Mazaba, Regional Director for the Eastern Africa Regional Co-coordinating Centre of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, closed the session by stressing another existential threat to PHC: antimicrobial resistance (AMR). She warned that AMR undermines the gains of primary care by turning once-treatable infections into expensive, complex problems and straining already fragile health systems. Her priorities were clear: strengthen surveillance and diagnostics at the primary-care level, implement stewardship programmes, secure reliable supply chains for quality medicines, and invest in local capacity for manufacturing and quality assurance.

Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa, CEO of FIND, reflected on what it would take to truly rebuild Africa’s health systems from within.

“If we could press the reset button, I would start by addressing what I consider to be a fundamental truth, that no country can outsource its health security, or indeed its health care system to others to run, to contribute, or to determine.”

~ Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa

He argued that if Africa is to achieve universal health coverage and be ready for future pandemics, it must invest in its own capacity to detect, respond, and deliver care. “Without testing, there is no treatment, no prevention, and no data to drive decisions,” he said, urging governments to see diagnostics not as a cost but as an investment in economic sovereignty.

Adetifa’s analogy of dancing to a new drumbeat struck a chord in the room. He urged countries to be guided by their own national priorities, not by external agendas because only those who wear the shoe know where it hurts.

Picking up the baton, Dr. Nkem Okeke, Founder and CEO of Medicalincs and BIND Associates, brought the private sector lens. With development assistance declining, she argued for smarter, value-based financing and public–private partnerships that work for Africans.

Reminding the audience that while the private sector’s goal is to make profit, “it should not be at the expense of somebody’s life.” Pointing to trends in health investment across Africa, she observed that much of the funding still flows into insurance, diagnostics, and retail pharmacy, which are often driven by external priorities rather than African realities. For Okeke, private investment in health must align with the continent’s needs, not just market opportunities.

Dr. Folorunso Fasina, the country team leader for the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in South Sudan, drew attention to the climate crisis as Africa’s most urgent and underfunded health challenge. Through the story of a farmer in East Africa impacted by drought, he traced the link between extreme weather, food insecurity, animal health, and antimicrobial resistance.

Drought reduces crop yields, causing food insecurity and pushing wildlife closer to human settlements, which increases interactions between wild and domestic animals. Indiscriminate antibiotics use in livestock fuel antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This cycle undermines human and animal health and deepens economic losses. Fashina stressed that the solution lies in integrated, climate-resilient health systems that unite agriculture, environment, and health sectors under one coordinated plan, preventing crises before they erupt.

Emphasising the urgency of action, he noted: “Climate change is not just a separate environmental issue. It is a single greatest threat multiplier to health and economic security in Africa. We need to address it through a One Health nexus, which is not an expense but the most critical investment we can make in our continent’s future”

Prof. Serge Blaise Emaleu, a global health expert in Emergency Preparedness, Readiness and Response, opened with a reminder: “Africa shoulders 24% of the global burden of disease, yet receives less than 2% of global health research funding. This stark disparity reflects a deep structural inequity, where the greatest health needs exist, the least investment follows.” He noted that over 90% of the vaccines used on the continent are imported, exposing a dangerous dependence on external systems. For Emaleu, building local research and manufacturing capacity is about preparedness, equity, and long-term health security.

From a humanitarian and implementation perspective, Etleva (Eva) Kadilli, UNICEF’s Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, emphasised that the move toward local manufacturing must be anchored in access and equity. She outlined UNICEF’s vision of collaboration with the Africa CDC and other continental actors to ensure that the benefits of regional production reach every community, especially those on the margins. Manufacturing in Africa, she stressed, must be matched by inclusive distribution and regulatory trust.

Bringing the political and structural dimension into focus, Dr. Blade Nzimande, South Africa’s Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, issued a call to action: Africa’s R&D ecosystem can only succeed when leadership, financing, and governance move seamlessly.

“We need heads of state to set and champion clear continental investment targets, finance ministers must align domestic budgets and incentives, and health ministers must ensure national research agendas reflect local disease priorities.”

~ Dr. Blade Nzimande

Nzimande outlined five interconnected pillars for a resilient African innovation system: funding, human capital, infrastructure and technology, policy and regulation, and partnerships. Each reinforces the other, from financing research to training talent, harmonising regulatory systems, and linking science to equitable access. “When these elements are synchronised,” he said, “Africa can move from plans and pledges to production and performance.”

With coordinated political leadership, sustainable financing, and cross-sector collaboration, Africa can shift from dependency to sovereignty, turning its vast potential into a powerful engine for health security, economic growth, and global partnership. As Nzimande concluded, “The time is now, and the future is made in Africa.”

The Conference which is taking place in Durban, South Africa, under the theme “Moving Towards Self-Reliance to Achieve Universal Health Coverage and Health Security in Africa,” is co-hosted by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), and the Government of South Africa, in collaboration with AfricaBio’s 8th Annual BIO Africa Convention. Participants gathered to continue charting Africa’s course towards resilient health systems and greater self-reliance in healthcare delivery.

In his opening speech, Dr. Nhlanhla Msomi, CEO of AfricaBio, urged African scientists and innovators to take ownership of the continent’s biotechnology future by developing homegrown innovation models, moving away from dependency on borrowed technologies and imported ideas.

Founded 26 years ago, Msomi said AfricaBio was born out of a recognition that the voices of African scientists were often absent in conversations shaping global science and innovation.

“Biotechnology offers an opportunity for the African continent to leapfrog other technology-driven industries because, at the time we started, there were no legacy issues, but over the past 25 years, we have seen that legacy issues can be manufactured and as a result, we can be left behind.”

~ Dr. Nhlanhla Msomi

The reference to “legacy issues” points to the growing structural and policy barriers that have emerged within the continent, hindering the pace of innovation and making it harder for Africa to maintain its early advantage in biotechnology.

He emphasised that Africa must move from research for discovery’s sake to innovation with impact, guided by public health priorities defined by institutions such as the Africa CDC.

AfricaBio, he said, is hoping to work with the Africa CDC to establish a drug discovery and development platform based on the continent’s pathogen priority list. The initiative aims to direct research efforts toward diseases that affect African populations, catalysing the continent’s intellectual and physical infrastructure for science and innovation.

Dr. Msomi underscored that the biotech mission is not only about health, but a lot of emphasis is also placed on entrepreneurship for developing sustainable industries of the future which will be driven by young African scientists and innovators.