The World Health Summit has called for a new era of “health sovereignty” in Africa, as major cuts in United States foreign aid reshape global health financing and prompt calls for greater domestic control of healthcare systems.
Speaking at the three-day summit in Nairobi, organisers and health leaders argued that reductions in Western donor funding — particularly the dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development — represent the end of an “outdated” development model.
The event brought together 15 African health ministers alongside thousands of NGO leaders, academics, and public health experts, all focused on strengthening Africa’s ability to finance and manage its own healthcare systems.
World Health Summit co-host Lukoye Atwoli said the traditional aid structure had long been based on a “poor medicine for poor people” mindset, adding that the model is no longer sustainable.
“That era is gone,” he said, pointing to reforms in countries like Kenya that are expanding health insurance coverage and upgrading medical infrastructure, despite ongoing challenges.
Summit president Axel Pries said the shift in global funding represents a “wake-up call” following lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, when African countries faced delayed access to vaccines.
“We don’t have the virus, but we have a political virus,” Pries said, warning that reliance on external donors has left health systems vulnerable to sudden disruptions.
He argued that the withdrawal of aid should push African nations toward increased domestic financing and away from what he described as a “donor-recipient paradigm.”
The funding changes have been particularly controversial following the US decision under President Donald Trump to significantly reduce or restructure global health assistance, including reported moves to dismantle USAID’s $40 billion annual aid programme.
While the cuts have been criticised in Western policy circles, some African stakeholders say the shift could encourage governments to take greater ownership of healthcare delivery and reduce long-standing dependency on foreign assistance.
However, Pries warned that the new US approach — which reportedly prioritises bilateral deals with individual countries — raises concerns over data ownership and equitable access to medical innovations.
He cautioned that linking health funding to access to national health data risks turning information into a “commodity” and undermining global collaboration.
“There is a risk that data becomes something no longer available to the broader family of nations,” he said, adding that African countries have already raised concerns about how such arrangements could affect sovereignty and public health outcomes.
Pries also criticised what he described as contradictions in US policy, noting tensions between demands for scientific data and broader political rhetoric on misinformation.
“The alarm bell has to ring,” he said.
The summit concluded that while the sudden reduction in aid has created short-term disruptions — particularly for HIV/AIDS and other critical programmes — it may accelerate long-term reforms aimed at building self-sustaining health systems across Africa.
