In a critical move to rebuild the continent's health funding environment, the African Union Development Agency Nepad (Auda-Nepad) and Georgetown University have officially launched a Cooperative Centre for Health Market Development. This kind of groundbreaking platform aims to unlock the potential of Africa's health economy through strategic investment, innovation and greater policy consistency.
The launch event, held in Washington, DC, brought together an impressive array of government leaders, global health stakeholders, private sector executives, philanthropists and development financial institutions. Their presence marks a new era of delivery-centric collaboration aimed at strengthening health systems, expanding access to services and promoting economic resilience across Africa.
At launch, Order Pad CEO Naldos Bekelethomas highlighted both the urgency and immeasurable opportunity embodied in the initiative. “The African health sector is not just a venue for service delivery, it is a factor in economic change,” she declared, setting the tone for subsequent debates.
Dr. Donald Caberka, former president of the African Development Bank and current chairman of the Global Funds Committee, reflected these sentiments. He acknowledged that Africa has witnessed the pockets of health development advancement, but there is an urgent need to expand its efforts. He emphasized that the success of this effort depends on a partnership firmly rooted in African agencies, welcoming robust global collaboration.
The new centre was conceived as an agile, intersectoral platform designed to drive systematic change. The work will focus on bringing private capital into health projects by building investments and developing project pipelines. This will provide technical support to health and finance ministries and help to integrate health into national planning and financial frameworks more effectively. Another important area of ​​focus is improving market efficiency through regulatory alignment and pooled procurement strategies. Additionally, the centre will serve as a showcase for African innovation in areas such as health checks, digital platforms, and local manufacturing.
Flori Riser, president and CEO of an organization representing the African Corporate Council, the Centre's key support partner, highlighted the broader ambitions to support the initiative. She described the centre as “more than just a new initiative: a dynamic engine designed to shape policies, drive investment, accelerate innovation and ultimately strengthen the health system in Africa.”
Riser reaffirmed the Corporate Council's commitment to ensuring private sector leadership remains central to the Center's work, consistent with the principles of Health Security and Resilience Initiatives in the US and Africa. Her remarks highlighted a key element of the Center's vision. Sustainable progress in the African health sector requires full and active participation of private stakeholders along with governments and development partners.
The initiative is entrenched around programs for investment and funding in the African Health Sector (PIFAH). Using lessons learned from successful infrastructure models such as the African Infrastructure Development Programme (PIDA), PIFAH is looking to create a new ecosystem of investable and shocking health interventions. It coincides with the broader ambitions of Agenda 2063, the African Union's strategic framework for socioeconomic change on the continent.
In a moving address to the delegates, former President of Nigeria and His Excellency Orsegun Obasanjo, Chief Executive of the African Union, spoke about the fundamental role the government must play on this journey. He noted that creating an appropriate enablement ecosystem is essential for the African health sector to flourish. “Does health generate wealth or does wealth generate health?” – he urged participants to rethink the traditional distinction between economic policy and health sector priorities.
President Obasanjo's words had a major impact on the room. His provocation served as a reminder that the relationship between health and economic prosperity is symbiotic. Neither can advance sustainably without others. His call to action challenged policymakers, investors and health leaders to reshape their understanding of health not only as a cost, but as a key investment in human capital and economic growth.
One speaker took this idea succinctly, saying, “This is about changing health from spending columns to investment columns, and doing so in Africa's vision from an African perspective.”
The importance of collaboration centres for health market development goes far beyond launch events. The facility represents a major opportunity to fragment Africa's health markets and rethink it as a dynamic engine of growth and innovation rather than a underfunded system. The Centre aims to catalyze the transition to sustainable, home-made solutions by introducing investment structures, regulatory reforms and ingenuity in Africa.
Importantly, the centre is determined to work closely with the central government, recognizing that political will and strong governance structures are essential to success. By supporting health and finance ministries with technical expertise and policy tools, the Centre wants to embed health financing in its national development strategy and ensure that health is recognized as a fundamental pillar of economic progress.
Furthermore, by promoting regulatory alignment between countries and promoting pooled sourcing practices, the Centre is hoping to create a more efficient and predictable health market. This makes it easier for investors and innovators to attract, scale up and deliver impact at the continental level.
In introducing Africa-led innovations, from digital health platforms that improve patient access and data management to the growth of local pharmaceutical manufacturing, the centre aims to highlight Africa's existing strengths. By celebrating and scaling these homemade solutions, we try to break through years of dependence on external models and advance new paths.
The launch of the centre also demonstrates new motivation among African development partners, serving as a back seat, allowing African institutions to set agendas, define priorities and lead implementation. It is a bold and necessary change, reflecting the growing awareness that sustainable healthcare systems must be built by Africans, Africans and Africans.
As Africa continues its journey to achieve its Agenda 2063 aspirations, it is important to create platforms like collaboration centres for health market development. By marrying investment and innovation with policy consistency and strong political leadership, the centre promises to lead a new era of Africa's health economy. This is seen as the foundation of prosperity rather than as a burden.
Thus, the collaboration between Ordanepad and Georgetown University marks the beginning of a transformational movement, not only the birth of a new institution. A movement to rethink Africa's health sector as a key driver for growth, resilience and shared prosperity for future generations.
