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Meeting highlights:
- Pandemic Preparedness & G20 Advocacy: Africa CDC is leveraging the G20 platform to push for continent-wide pandemic response systems, local manufacturing, digital health infrastructure, and alternative healthcare financing amid a surge in outbreaks.
- Local Manufacturing Drive: Through the Platform for Harmonized African Health Manufacturing (PHAHM), Africa aims to produce 60% of essential health products by 2040, supported by major investments, regulatory capacity building, and regional procurement systems.
- Transition to Domestic Health Financing: Africa CDC is championing a shift from donor dependency by promoting domestic investment, innovative taxation, blended financing, and governance reforms, detailed in its new “Rethinking Health Financing” guide.
- Primary Healthcare as a Foundation: Emphasizing community-level care, Dr. Kaseya highlights the need to strengthen primary healthcare systems as a cost-effective way to improve health outcomes and manage outbreaks before they overwhelm hospitals.
- Digital Innovation & Sovereignty: Advocating for AI and integrated digital systems, he calls for respectful, non-paternalistic international partnerships that support African-led health strategies and innovations.
EF: With South Africa hosting the G20 and major global shifts underway, what are the CDC’s key priorities for Africa in 2025?
JK: In 2024, I had the privilege of meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa three times to help prepare for the G20 Summit that South Africa will host. But I see this summit as more than a South African milestone—it is a pivotal opportunity for the entire African continent. It is a moment for Africa to present a unified, strategic agenda rooted in its own vision for health sovereignty and security. As the African Union’s lead on pandemic preparedness and response, President Ramaphosa plays a critical role in coordinating the continent’s response to health emergencies.
The urgency could not be greater. Between 2022 and 2024, Africa saw a 41% surge in epidemic events. Alarmingly, in just the first half of 2025, we have already recorded 70–75% of the total outbreaks reported in all of 2024. These figures are not just numbers—they are a call to action. They demonstrate that the risk of the next pandemic emerging from Africa is not hypothetical; it is imminent.
In response, Africa CDC, working closely with South Africa and other Member States, is advancing several high-impact priorities. These include strengthening systems to detect, prevent, and respond to outbreaks; scaling up local manufacturing to ensure the continent can produce its own medical supplies; identifying innovative and sustainable health financing mechanisms, particularly in the face of declining international aid; and building a robust digital infrastructure to ensure real-time coordination across all regions.
We are leveraging the G20 platform to advocate for genuine global support. This is not charity, but a partnership that empowers Africa to build a resilient, self-reliant health system capable of protecting not only its own populations, but also contributing to global health security. The 2025 G20 Summit is Africa’s moment to lead.
EF: What decisions do the leaders need to make to achieve Africa's goal of producing 60% of its vaccines locally by 2040?
JK: The first major step toward Africa’s health sovereignty came in 2022, with the launch of the Partnership for African Vaccine Manufacturing (PAVM), which set a bold target: to produce 60% of Africa’s vaccines locally by 2040. But when I assumed leadership at Africa CDC, I asked a critical question—why stop at vaccines? Africa’s needs extend far beyond that. In the face of ongoing health threats like the mpox outbreak, we not only need vaccines—we also require reliable diagnostics, effective treatments, and access to a broader range of essential health products.
That is why we expanded our vision and created the Platform for Harmonized African Health Manufacturing (PHAHM). Our ambition remains the same: by 2040, Africa must be capable of producing 60% of its essential health products—vaccines, medicines, diagnostics, and more—on the continent. To make this vision a reality, we are focusing on four strategic pillars:
1. Research and Development. For too long, Africa has relied on external innovation. But today, we are shifting that paradigm. Mpox and other emerging diseases present opportunities for Africa to lead. Africa CDC is currently supporting over 40 active research studies, led by African scientists and backed by partners such as WHO, CEPI, and the Wellcome Trust. This is African science, driven by African priorities.
2. Financing. No manufacturing ecosystem can thrive without sustained investment. In the past, we lacked a clear financial pathway. Today, that has changed. We now have more than $7 billion in committed funding—including $1.2 billion through the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator (AVMA), $2 billion from Afreximbank, $3 billion from the African Development Bank, and $1 billion from the European Union. Africa CDC is working closely with these institutions to coordinate financing and guide manufacturers toward viable business models.
3. Regulation. Effective regulation underpins quality and trust. We are accelerating the operationalization of the African Medicines Agency (AMA) as a continental regulator. While AMA becomes fully functional, we are strengthening national regulatory systems. When I began my mandate in April 2023, only four African countries had National Regulatory Authorities that met WHO maturity level benchmarks. By December 2024, that number had doubled to eight. We expect at least four more to reach that level by the end of 2025.
4. Market Access. Local manufacturing must serve the people of Africa—not just exist for its own sake. That’s why we established the African Pooled Procurement Mechanism (APPM) to support Member States in sourcing African-made products. And we are working with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to dismantle trade barriers and ensure these products can move freely across borders to reach all 1.4 billion Africans.
This is not just a vision; it is a roadmap to health sovereignty, driven by innovation, investment, regulation, and regional integration.
EF: How can African healthcare systems transition from donor dependency to resilient, domestically funded models in light of reduced international funding?
JK: I have dedicated over 25 years to public health. In 2022, when I applied to become the Director General of Africa CDC, I submitted a manifesto that called on Africans to reduce dependence on external aid and prioritize domestic health financing. But as we say in my country, you don’t feed solid food to a baby whose stomach isn’t ready—you start with milk. At the time, many dismissed this message, assuming international aid would remain constant.
But I didn’t wait for donor fatigue to set in before acting. In September 2024—well before elections in the U.S., Germany, or Canada—I met with President Paul Kagame. I shared my deep concern about the growing number of disease outbreaks and the urgent need to revive the conversation on funding health from within. As the African Union’s Champion for Domestic Resource Mobilization, President Kagame responded without delay. In October 2024, he sent letters to fellow Heads of State and Government, calling for a high-level meeting in February 2025.
That meeting marked a turning point. With the endorsement of the African Union Assembly, Africa CDC convened Ministers of Health and Finance and other key leaders to finalize a framework entitled “Rethinking Health Financing in Africa in a New Era.” This landmark document—available on our website—presents a clear and African-led vision anchored on four pillars:
1. Increasing domestic resources: Too many middle-income countries in Africa are still allocating only about 1% of their national budgets to health. That is not sufficient. We have the fiscal space—and the responsibility—to do more.
2. Innovative financing: We must adopt creative ways to raise revenue, such as taxes on sugar, tobacco, alcohol, and airline tickets. Some countries are already doing this. We welcome and encourage such initiatives.
3. Blended financing: Attracting private sector investment—particularly in strategic areas like medical countermeasures is essential for long-term sustainability.
4. Good governance: This, to me, is the most important pillar. If we manage our health systems transparently, align both domestic and external funding with national priorities, and eliminate corruption and inefficiencies, we can dramatically reduce our reliance on external aid.
With just a 5% increase in domestic and innovative financing—combined with sound governance and proper coordination—we estimate that Africa could reduce its dependence on external aid to only 10–20% of what it used to receive. This is not a dream. This is a new health financing approach, led by Africa CDC, and rooted in African ownership.
We are committed to tracking our progress and reporting transparently because health sovereignty begins with financial sovereignty, and Africa is ready.
EF: Why has primary healthcare been prioritized on the agenda, and what role does it play in advancing universal health coverage?
JK: Let me share an example from South Africa. For many years, its public health system was predominantly hospital-based. Today, however, South Africa is undergoing a major shift—moving toward strengthening primary healthcare and advancing universal health coverage. While hospitals remain essential, in Africa, most disease outbreaks begin in communities, not clinics. We need systems that can detect, prevent, and respond at that level. Primary healthcare is not only the most inclusive approach—it is also the most cost-effective way to deliver both universal health coverage and health security.
The evidence is clear. Across multiple studies and datasets, we’ve found that effective primary healthcare systems can meet up to 90% of a population’s health needs, including prevention, health promotion, and basic treatment. Rwanda is a powerful example. By investing in robust primary care, introducing community health insurance, and deploying well-trained community health workers, Rwanda has seen its national life expectancy rise by nearly a decade since the genocide. This is what happens when community-based care becomes a national priority.
Across the continent, the signs are unmistakable: we need more trained health workers, better-equipped primary health facilities, and stronger linkages between communities and health systems. This would reduce the burden on hospitals—up to 70% of current hospital visits could be prevented with strong primary care. Unfortunately, as seen during recent outbreaks in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo, hospitals are overstretched because frontline systems remain too weak.
This is why, at Africa CDC, I have made primary healthcare a top strategic priority. And for the first time in our history, I have appointed a dedicated Director of Primary Healthcare to lead and scale this agenda because the future of health in Africa will be decided—not in hospitals—but in homes, villages, and communities.
EF: How can AI and digital technology improve health system efficiency and cost-effectiveness?
JK: Sometimes progress means building on the foundations we've already laid. Over 13 years ago, during my time with UNICEF in Namibia, I had the privilege of helping to develop the e-birth notification system—a pioneering digital innovation that supported not just the health sector, but also education, social protection, and civil registration. It began at the moment of birth: when a mother delivered her baby, both were assigned a digital code. That data was shared with the Ministry of Health to support vaccination planning and early healthcare. It went to the Ministry of Education to anticipate school enrollment in five years. The Ministry of Social Welfare was alerted if the child needed special assistance. And the Ministry of Interior used the information for official birth registration. This kind of cross-sectoral digital integration strengthened national systems and improved long-term planning. The model we built in Namibia became a reference for other countries—and this is exactly the kind of innovation we now need across the continent. My vision for Africa’s digital health agenda is to harness tools like artificial intelligence to connect sectors, synchronize systems, and drive coordinated action—so we can more effectively support the health and development of every African.
EF: What final message would you like to share with the health sector?
JK: My message is primarily directed to our international partners: the era of paternalism is behind us. It is time to embrace a new paradigm—one of respectful and equitable partnership. Africa no longer needs to be told what to do. We are ready, and our leadership has already demonstrated this readiness by establishing robust institutions such as the Africa CDC and the African Medicines Agency. We do not seek partners who dictate; we seek partners who listen and engage. No amount of funding will bring lasting solutions unless it is aligned with the systems and strategies we have defined for ourselves. Challenges such as health financing can be overcome if partners invest in the vision we are implementing. Together, we can prevent future outbreaks—not only in Africa but globally—by strengthening local capacities to manufacture vaccines and medicines. This is a call for genuine partnership. We ask to be recognized not as beneficiaries, but as co-leaders of our development journey, with partners standing beside us—not above us.
