78th WHA Constituency Statements
Distinguished Delegates,
Health financing stands at a critical inflection point. While global health priorities—from pandemic preparedness to maternal and child survival and the climate-health nexus—are expanding, financing has not kept pace. Over 4.5 billion people lack access to essential services, and 2 billion face financial hardship due to out-of-pocket spending. Many lower-middle-income countries face rising fiscal strain, with health systems underfunded and fragmented.
We welcome the resolution on Strengthening Global Health Financing and commend Nigeria’s leadership, alongside Senegal and 21 co-sponsoring Member States. As the first major intergovernmental step on health financing in over a decade, it marks a timely shift toward resilient, country-led systems.
We support provisions from EB156, including recognition that 1 billion people spend over 10% of household income on health; stronger commitments to domestic resource mobilization and public financial management; and a focus on data for financial protection.
To ensure effective implementation, we urge Member States to:
● Align with the Lusaka Agenda, centering institutions like Africa CDC;
● Scale up progressive, pooled public financing, improving efficiency and protection for the most vulnerable;
● Address data gaps on spending and protection;
● Institutionalize and fund social participation mechanisms, especially for civil society, patient organizations, youth, and affected communities, to co-design, implement, and monitor policies—ensuring equity and accountability;
● Advance tax justice and debt relief to expand fiscal space, improving access to NCD prevention and care, and to affordable and safe health products and technologies.