An Open Letter from the Pan African Health Professionals Organisation to World Leaders, Civil Society Organisations, and Businesses at the Financing for Development Conference in Sevilla, Spain.
June 30, 2025.
To World Leaders, Esteemed Civil Society Organizations, and Valued Business Partners,
As we gather for this year's Financing for Development Conference in Sevilla, Spain, from June 30 to July 3, 2025, the Pan African Health Professionals Organization feels it's crucial to speak directly and urgently about the profound challenges facing health across Africa, and indeed, globally. As healthcare providers, researchers, and public health advocates, we see every single day how underfunded health systems, combined with the crushing burdens of hunger, malnutrition, and conflict, impact the lives of our communities.
We're all striving for the Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG 3 on Good Health and Well-being. But in Africa, the path to healthy populations and strong health systems is constantly blocked by a lack of funds, unfair distribution of resources, global economic shocks, and the devastating realities of food insecurity and ongoing conflicts.
What COVID-19 Taught Us About Open Data and Preparedness:
The COVID-19 pandemic hit us hard. It was a painful, undeniable lesson in how vital preparedness and global cooperation truly are. What it starkly revealed was a critical problem: digital health data between governments was often shared too late, or not at all. This major flaw hampered effective responses at every level, costing lives and causing immense economic suffering.
We firmly believe that building open government for public health isn't just a nice idea; it’s absolutely essential if we're going to be ready for the next pandemic. This means making open digital health data sharing a fundamental part of how governments operate. We've seen firsthand how adopting principles of open government – like transparency, accountability, and citizen involvement – at all levels can genuinely strengthen our public health systems. By making it easier to share data between governments and building more resilient health infrastructures, we can truly get ahead of the next pandemic and protect everyone's well-being.
Hunger, Malnutrition, and the Undeniable Link to Health and Peace:
Beyond disease outbreaks, there's another silent crisis that continues to devastate lives across Africa and the world: hunger and malnutrition. These aren't isolated problems; they're deeply interconnected, undermining physical and mental development, weakening immune systems, and trapping generations in poverty. What's more, we know that genuine health simply cannot thrive where there is no peace. Conflicts make health challenges worse, force people from their homes, destroy essential services, and compound food shortages. So, promoting peace isn't just about politics; it's a direct intervention for better health. We live by this truth: Health is Wealth, Health for Peace.
To Our World Leaders:
We urge you to not just re-commit, but to significantly increase your financial support (Official Development Assistance – ODA) for health initiatives in Africa. This isn't charity; it's a smart investment in global health security, economic stability, and the prosperity we all share. We call for:
* Honoring Commitments: Please meet and exceed the 0.7% GNI target for ODA, with a substantial portion dedicated to health, nutrition, and peace-building.
* Investing in Open Digital Health Infrastructure: We need you to prioritize and fund the creation of robust, interconnected, and open digital health data platforms. These are vital for rapid, transparent data sharing across borders and within governments, especially during health, nutrition, and peace-related crises.
* Fair Access to Medical Essentials: Support systems that ensure everyone has fair and affordable access to crucial health supplies – vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments. This includes boosting local production in Africa, a crucial lesson from the pandemic's inequities.
* Debt Relief and Restructuring: Advocate for comprehensive debt relief and responsible debt management. This would free up much-needed funds for African governments to invest in health, digital transformation, nutrition programs, and peace-building, instead of diverting critical resources to debt payments.
* Strengthening Our Health Workforce: Invest in training, keeping, and fairly paying health professionals in Africa. Let's tackle brain drain by creating appealing working conditions and career paths, recognizing their indispensable role, especially during pandemics and in conflict zones.
* Addressing Climate Change and Health: Acknowledge and actively address how climate change disproportionately affects health, food security, and displacement in Africa. Fund adaptation and mitigation strategies that protect health outcomes, understanding how climate change amplifies public health vulnerabilities and can even fuel conflict.
* Promoting Peace for Health: Work actively towards resolving conflicts and building peace across Africa and the globe. Stable environments are fundamental for developing health systems, delivering effective aid, and tackling the root causes of hunger and disease.
To Our Civil Society Partners:
Your tireless advocacy and direct community engagement are absolutely vital. We encourage you to:
* Be the Voice of the Vulnerable: Keep championing the health rights of marginalized people, including those suffering from hunger and displacement due to conflict. Hold governments and international bodies accountable for their promises, especially on data transparency and fair access to health resources.
* Boost Health and Nutrition Literacy: Strengthen community-led health and nutrition efforts and help more people understand health issues. Empower individuals to take charge of their well-being and participate in public health and peace-building, including appropriate data collection and sharing.
* Demand Transparency in Health Financing and Data: Insist on transparency in how money flows for health and advocate for strong accountability. We need to ensure health funds actually reach those who need them, and that digital health data is managed ethically and securely.
* Support Local Initiatives: Collaborate with and empower local health and peace-building organizations. They have a unique understanding of community needs and contexts, as we clearly saw during the pandemic and in responding to humanitarian crises.
To Our Business and Private Sector Colleagues:
Your innovation, investment, and expertise are essential for transforming Africa's health landscape and contributing to global well-being. We invite you to:
* Invest in Health and Digital Health: Direct your investments towards building resilient health infrastructure – hospitals, clinics, supply chains – and use technology to improve service delivery. Focus on interoperable digital health systems and data solutions that allow for seamless information exchange.
* Support Local Production and Innovation: Invest in manufacturing pharmaceuticals, medical devices, health technologies, and sustainable food solutions right here in Africa. This fosters economic growth and reduces our reliance on external markets, a critical lesson from the global supply chain disruptions of COVID-19.
* Practice Ethical Business and Protect Data: Ensure responsible sourcing, fair labor practices, and adherence to environmental standards that contribute to a healthy society. Crucially, uphold the highest standards of data privacy and security in all digital health initiatives.
* Engage in Genuine Public-Private Partnerships: Explore and expand true partnerships that benefit both sides and truly strengthen public health systems, address food insecurity, and support peace-building. Let's work together on digital health solutions, focusing on the public good, not just profit.
* Embrace Corporate Social Responsibility: Develop strong initiatives that directly improve health outcomes, nutrition, and stability in African communities, with a focus on preparing for public health emergencies, building data infrastructure, and promoting peace.
Our Shared Vision:
At PAHPO, we deeply believe that a healthy Africa means a prosperous Africa, one that contributes meaningfully to global stability and progress. Incremental change just isn't enough anymore. We need bold, transformative financing strategies that put health front and center – as a fundamental human right and the cornerstone of sustainable development. This must be built on the crucial lessons from COVID-19 regarding open government and the absolute necessity of seamless, ethical digital health data sharing, all while steadfastly addressing hunger and working for peace.
Let this conference be a pivotal moment where our commitments become real actions, where collaboration overcomes division, and where the health and well-being of every African citizen are secured for generations to come – well-prepared for any future health challenges, nourished, and living in peace.
Sincerely,
Pan African Health Professionals Organisation
secretariat@ahpo.org
https://www.pahpo.org