https://en.sputniknews.africa/20260801/we-want-to-become-independent-africas-path-toward-health-sovereignty-1087970491.html
“We Want to Become Independent”: Africa’s Path Toward Health Sovereignty
“We Want to Become Independent”: Africa’s Path Toward Health Sovereignty
Sputnik Africa
For decades, Africa’s health progress has depended heavily on external support, particularly in the fight against HIV/AIDS and efforts to strengthen health... 01.08.2026, Sputnik Africa
2026-08-01T12:00+0200
2026-08-01T12:00+0200
2026-08-01T12:00+0200
african currents
podcasts
sputnik africa
africa
central africa
east africa
north africa
southern africa
west africa
african union (au)
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.africa/img/07ea/07/1f/1087972729_0:280:1280:1000_1920x0_80_0_0_e458ed251c5e0b989843baccc76bf591.jpg
“We Want to Become Independent”: Africa’s Path Toward Health Sovereignty
Sputnik Africa
For decades, Africa’s health progress has depended heavily on external support, particularly in the fight against HIV/AIDS and efforts to strengthen health security. Experts are urging governments to mobilize domestic resources to build resilient health systems and drive growth in science, education, and innovation.
Africa’s progress in tackling AIDS has demonstrated the impact of sustained investment, but leaders now see health financing as a foundation for broader economic and scientific advancement. Eastern and Southern Africa reduced new HIV infections by 59 percent between 2010 and 2023, while AIDS-related deaths declined by 57 percent during the same period. Despite these gains, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS estimates that 39.9 million people were living with HIV globally in 2023, with sub-Saharan Africa continuing to carry the highest burden. As countries work toward ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, policymakers are calling for greater investment in research, local pharmaceutical production, and health innovation to strengthen self-reliance and support long-term development.African Currents spoke with Professor Glenda Gray, Director of the Infectious Disease and Oncology Research Institute at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, on the growing pressure to secure sustainable financing for Africa’s HIV/AIDS response. Listen to the full interview on the African Currents podcast, presented by Sputnik Africa.► Stream the podcast on Telegram, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Deezer, Pocket Casts, Afripods, Podcast Addict.► Subscribe to and explore all the episodes of African Currents.
africa
central africa
east africa
north africa
southern africa
west africa
Sputnik Africa
feedback@sputniknews.com
+74956456601
MIA „Rossiya Segodnya“
2026
Chimauchem Nwosu
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.africa/img/07e8/06/0b/1066992175_0:0:278:278_100x100_80_0_0_b5f6eaa3b85dbfcd0266ea860848a996.jpg
Chimauchem Nwosu
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.africa/img/07e8/06/0b/1066992175_0:0:278:278_100x100_80_0_0_b5f6eaa3b85dbfcd0266ea860848a996.jpg
News
en_EN
Sputnik Africa
feedback@sputniknews.com
+74956456601
MIA „Rossiya Segodnya“
Sputnik Africa
feedback@sputniknews.com
+74956456601
MIA „Rossiya Segodnya“
Chimauchem Nwosu
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.africa/img/07e8/06/0b/1066992175_0:0:278:278_100x100_80_0_0_b5f6eaa3b85dbfcd0266ea860848a996.jpg
podcasts, sputnik africa, africa, central africa, east africa, north africa, southern africa, west africa, african union (au), unaids, hiv/aids, healthcare, health, health ministry, аудио
podcasts, sputnik africa, africa, central africa, east africa, north africa, southern africa, west africa, african union (au), unaids, hiv/aids, healthcare, health, health ministry, аудио
“We Want to Become Independent”: Africa’s Path Toward Health Sovereignty
For decades, Africa’s health progress has depended heavily on external support, particularly in the fight against HIV/AIDS and efforts to strengthen health security. Experts are urging governments to mobilize domestic resources to build resilient health systems and drive growth in science, education, and innovation.
Africa’s progress in tackling AIDS has demonstrated the impact of sustained investment, but leaders now see health financing as a foundation for broader economic and scientific advancement. Eastern and Southern Africa reduced new HIV infections by 59 percent between 2010 and 2023, while AIDS-related deaths declined by 57 percent during the same period. Despite these gains, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS estimates that 39.9 million people were living with HIV globally in 2023, with sub-Saharan Africa continuing to carry the highest burden. As countries work toward ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, policymakers are calling for greater investment in research, local pharmaceutical production, and health innovation to strengthen self-reliance and support long-term development.
African Currents spoke with Professor Glenda Gray, Director of the Infectious Disease and Oncology Research Institute at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, on the growing pressure to secure sustainable financing for Africa’s HIV/AIDS response.
"We're in a dire situation on our continent, and this situation [insufficient funding for healthcare programs] will unravel over the next couple of years. So, although we may not see today the impact of this shortage of funding, it'll start to reverberate in our hospitals and our clinics throughout Africa [...]. It's important for us to look at our internal resources and to make sure that the revenue that we have goes to health, but it also will have a reverberating effect on other sectors like education, for instance, or like higher education. We want to become independent; we want to make our own vaccines, our own drugs. You need investment in science and technology to do this. And if we're diverting our money to health, something's going to suffer somewhere [...]. From the African Union perspective, there could be more continental influence to ensure that health budgets are spent adequately and that the right amount of GDP goes into health spending," Prof. Gray opined.
Listen to the full interview on the African Currents podcast, presented by Sputnik Africa.
►
Subscribe to and explore all the episodes of African Currents.
