The minister of Health presents recommendations for sustainable health financing that align with the Africa Leadership Meeting Declaration. These recommendations aim to promote long-term, effective healthcare funding strategies for the continent.
The recommendations for sustainable health financing in line with the Africa Leadership Meeting (ALM) Declaration, were presented yesterday, by the Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal, at the closing ceremony of the High-Level Dialogue on National Health Financing, held at the Maritim Resort and Spa, Balaclava.
The High-Level Dialogue, organised by the Ministry of Health and Wellness, African Union (AU), African Union Development Agency – New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD), Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Global Fund, was held from 11 September to 13 September 2023. The objective was to regroup public and private stakeholders to brainstorm, reflect and reach a consensus for the drafting of a statement on national health financing.
In his address, Minister Jagutpal, recalled that Mauritius adopted the ALM Declaration on investing in Health in February 2019, in Addis Ababa. It is in this context that the High Level Dialogue was held, he stated, adding that the focus was on the four key pillars of the ALM Declaration, namely More Money for Health; More Health for the Money; Equity for Improved Financial Protection in Health; and Strengthened Country Leadership of the Health Financing Agenda.
As regards More Money for Health, the Minister spoke of the need to accelerate the development of the medical hub; enhance collaboration between the public and the private sector to invest in state-of-the-art technology and standard of care; mobilise funds and other resources from our development partners for investment and capacity development. The need to fast-track the development of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, local manufacturing of medical supplies and clinical research, was also underlined.
Concerning More Health for the Money, Minister Jagutpal indicated that it was proposed that more guidelines and protocols should be provided to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery to further enhance Universal Health Coverage. In addition, he mentioned that primary care through health literacy and the Family Doctor Service Scheme should be improved and digital transformation of the health system including “One Patient, One Record” should be pursued. The need to adopt Pooled Procurement, rationalise use of essential medicines and operationalise the Central Medical Procurement Authority, was also highlighted.
Financing Strategy and coordination framework; and strengthen the Health Management Information System and Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting (MER) framework.
He expressed his satisfaction as regards the proposals made by the participants and thanked the AU, AUDA-NEPAD, SADC, Global Fund, and the World Health Organization for their continuous support and assistance.
