Louis Charbonneau is UN director, Human Rights Watch
Karla Quintana (centre), head of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in Syria, visits Al Marjeh Square in Damascus, a place where families of missing persons display photos in the hope of finding their loved ones. Credit: IIMP Syria
May 8 2025 (IPS) – Major-power cutbacks and delayed payments amidst conflict and insecurity are testing the very principles and frameworks upon which the international human rights infrastructure was built nearly 80 years ago.
Human rights need defending now more than ever, which is why the United Nations leadership needs to ensure that its efforts to cut costs don’t jeopardize the UN’s critical human rights work.
China, the second biggest contributor, continues to pay but has been delaying payments, exacerbating the UN’s years-long liquidity crisis. With widespread layoffs looming, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been forced to dig deep for cost-saving measures.
The proposals include consolidating apparently overlapping mandates, reducing the UN’s presence in expensive locations like New York City, and cutting some senior posts.
While some UN80 proposals have merit, the section on human rights is worrying. It suggests downgrading and cutting several senior human rights posts and merging different activities. But at a time when rights crises are multiplying and populist leaders hostile to rights are proliferating, any reduction of the UN’s human rights capacities would be shortsighted.
Efficiency and cost-effectiveness are important, but the UN’s human rights work has long been grossly underfunded and understaffed. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights gets just 5 percent of the UN’s regular budget.
Countless lives depend on its investigations and monitoring, which help deter abuses in often ignored or inaccessible locales. Investigations of war crimes and other atrocities in places like Sudan, Ukraine, Israel/Palestine, and elsewhere are already struggling amidst a UN-wide hiring freeze and pre-Trump liquidity shortfall.
For years, Russia and China have lobbied to defund the UN’s human rights work. There is now a risk that the United States, which has gutted its own funding for human rights worldwide, will no longer oppose these efforts and will instead enable them.
During these trying times, the UN should be reminding the world that its decades-long commitment to human rights is unwavering.
Dominican Republic’s Minister of Labor Eddy Olivares Ortega and Javier Cremades, President of the World Jurist Association, hand the Medal of Honor award to Just Rights for Children founder Bhuwan Ribhu.
NEW DELHI, May 6 2025 (IPS) – Bhuwan Ribhu didn’t plan to become a child rights activist. But when he saw how many children in India were being trafficked, abused, and forced into marriage, he knew he couldn’t stay silent.
“It all started with failure,” Ribhu says. “We tried to help, but we weren’t stopping the problem. That’s when I realized—no one group can do this alone. Calling the problem for what it truly is—a criminal justice issue rather than a social justice issue—I knew the solution needed holistic scale.”
Today, Bhuwan Ribhu leads Just Rights for Children—one of the world’s largest networks dedicated to protecting children. In recognition of his relentless efforts to combat child marriage and trafficking, he has just been awarded the prestigious Medal of Honor by the World Jurist Association. The award was presented at the recently concluded World Law Congress in the Dominican Republic.
But for Ribhu, the honor isn’t about recognition. “This is a reminder that the world is watching—and that children are counting on us,” he tells IPS in his first interview after receiving the award.
Looking Back: One Meeting Changed Everything
For Ribhu, a lawyer by profession, it has been a long, arduous, and illustrious journey to getting justice for children. But this long journey began during a meeting of small nonprofits in eastern India’s Jharkhand state, where someone spoke up: “Girls from my village are being taken far away, to Kashmir, and sold into marriage.”
That moment hit Ribhu hard.
“That’s when it struck me—one person or one group can’t solve a problem that crosses state borders,” he says. He then started building a nationwide network.
And just like that, the Child Marriage-Free India (CMFI) campaign was born. Dozens of organizations joined, and the number grew steadily until it reached 262.
So far, more than 260 million people have joined in the campaign, with the Indian government launching Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat—a national mission towards ending child marriage in India.
Across villages, towns, and cities, people are speaking up for a child marriage-free India.
“What used to feel impossible is now within reach,” Ribhu says.
Taking the Fight to Courtrooms
Ribhu is a trained lawyer, and for him, the law is a powerful weapon.
Since 2005, he’s fought—and won—dozens of important cases in Indian courts. These have helped define child trafficking in Indian law; make it mandatory for police to act when children go missing; criminalize child labor; set up support systems for abuse survivors; and remove harmful child sexual abuse content from the internet.
One big success came when the courts accepted that if a child is missing, police should assume they might have been trafficked. This changed everything. Reported missing cases dropped from 117,480 to 67,638 a year.
“That’s what justice in action looks like,” said Ribhu.
Taking Along Religious Leaders
One of the most powerful moves of CMFI was reaching out to religious leaders.
The reason was simple: whatever the religion is, it is the religious leader who conducts a marriage.
“If religious leaders refuse to marry children, the practice will stop,” says Ribhu.
The movement began visiting thousands of villages. They met Hindu priests, Muslim clerics, Christian pastors, and others. They asked them to take a simple pledge: “I will not marry a child, and I will report child marriage if I see it.”
The results have been astonishing: on festivals like Akshaya Tritiya—considered auspicious for weddings—many child marriages used to happen until recently. But temples now refuse to perform them.
“Faith can be a big force for justice,” Ribhu says. “And religious texts support education and protection for children.”
Going Global with a Universal Goal
But the campaign is no longer just India’s story. In January of this year, Nepal, inspired by the campaign, launched its own Child Marriage-Free Nepal initiative with the support of Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli. All the seven provinces of the country have joined it, vowing to take steps to stop child marriage
The campaign has also spread to 39 other countries, including Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where calls for a global child protection legal network are gaining momentum.
“The legal systems of different countries and regions may differ, but justice should be the same everywhere,” says Ribhu, who has also authored two books—Just Rights and When Children Have Children—where he has laid out a legal, institutional, and moral framework to end child exploitation called PICKET. “It’s not just about shouting for change. It’s about building systems that protect children every day,” Ribhu says.
Sacrifices and Hope
Ribhu gave up a promising career in law practice. Many people didn’t understand why.
“People said I was wasting my time,” he remembers. “But one day my son said, ‘Even if you save just one child, it’s worth it.’ That meant everything to me.”
A believer in the idea of Gandhian trusteeship—the belief that we should use our talents and privileges to serve others, especially those who need help the most.
“I may not be the one to fight child marriage in Iraq or Congo. But someone will. And we’ll stand beside them.”
A Powerful Award and a Bigger Mission
The World Jurist Association Medal isn’t just a trophy. For Ribhu, it’s a platform. “It tells the world: This is possible. Change is happening. Let’s join in.”
He also hopes that the award will help his team connect with new partners and expand their work to new regions.
“In 2024 alone, over 2.6 lakhs Child Marriages were prevented and stopped and over 56,000 children were rescued from trafficking and exploitation in India. These numbers show that change is not just a dream—it’s real,” he says.
By 2030, Ribhu hopes to see the number of child marriages in India falling below 5 percent.
But there’s more to do. In some countries, like Iraq, girls can still be married as young as 10, and in the United States, 35 states still allow child marriage under certain conditions.
“Justice can’t be occasional,” Ribhu says. “It must be a part of the system everywhere. We must make sure justice isn’t just a word—it’s a way of life.”
A HALO demining worker carefully probes for mines in Ukraine.
Credit: Tom Pilston/HALO
BRATISLAVA, May 5 2025 (IPS) – As a string of European states announce withdrawals from a global treaty banning antipersonnel landmines, campaigners are warning countless lives could be put at risk as decades of progress fighting the weapons come under threat.
On April 16, Latvia’s parliament approved the country’s withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention. This came just weeks after Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, and Finland all announced their intention to pull out of the treaty.
The countries have argued the move is a necessary security measure in light of growing Russian aggression.
But campaign groups have said that pulling out of the treaty is undermining the agreement itself with serious humanitarian implications.
“While far from the end of the treaty, this is a very big setback for the treaty and a very depressing development. Antipersonnel landmines are objectionable because they are inherently indiscriminate weapons and because of their long-lasting humanitarian impact,” Mary Wareham, deputy director of the Crisis, Conflict and Arms Division at Human Rights Watch, which is a co-founder of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), told IPS.
“The supposed military benefits of landmines are far outweighed by the devastating humanitarian implications of them,” she added.
The 1997 Ottawa Treaty bans the use, production, transfer, and stockpiling of antipersonnel landmines. It has been ratified or accepted by 165 countries—Russia, the United States, China, North Korea, Iran, and Israel are among those that are not signatories.
HALO demining in action. Credit: Tom Pilston/HALO
Campaign groups supporting the ban highlight the devastation landmines cause not just from direct casualties but also from driving massive displacement, hindering the delivery of humanitarian aid and impeding socio-economic recovery from conflict.
Meanwhile, the vast majority of those killed by landmines—80%—are civilians, with children particularly vulnerable.
“The presence of mines and other explosive ordnance continues to cause high levels of fatalities and serious injury, often resulting in life-long disabilities, with disproportionate impacts on children, persons with disabilities, and those forced to return under desperate conditions,” Shabia Mantoo, UNHCR spokesperson, told IPS.
“In addition to the high death toll, injuries and their aftereffects, including psychological damage, the presence of explosive devices hinders access to local livelihoods such as pastures, fields, farms, and firewood, as well as community infrastructure. They also affect the delivery of humanitarian aid and development activities. For humanitarian actors, their ability to safely reach communities with high levels of humanitarian needs and vulnerabilities and deliver life-saving assistance and protection are often seriously constrained due to risks posed by explosive devices,” Mantoo added.
Humanitarian groups say the treaty has been instrumental in reducing landmine casualties from approximately 25,000 per year in 1999 to fewer than 5,000 in 2023. The number of contaminated states and regions has also declined significantly, from 99 in 1999 to 58 in 2024.
The treaty also includes measures requiring member countries to clear and destroy them as well as to provide assistance to victims, and as of the end of last year, 33 states had completed clearing all antipersonnel mines from their territory since 1999.
But in recent years, landmine casualties have grown amid new and worsening conflicts.
Data from the ICBL’s Landmine Monitor (2024) showed that in 2023, at least 5,757 people were killed or injured by landmines in 2023—a rise of 22 percent compared with 2022—in 53 countries.
The highest number of casualties—1,003—was recorded in Myanmar. This was three times the number in 2022. This was followed by Syria (933), Afghanistan (651), Ukraine (580), and Yemen (499).
In a special report on the continuing risks posed by mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), the presence of which is known as ‘weapon contamination,’ released earlier in April, the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) warned that in 2025, the humanitarian impact of weapon contamination would likely continue to rise.
“The increased use of improvised explosive devices, shifting frontlines, and worsening security conditions will make survey and clearance efforts even more complex and therefore leave communities exposed to greater danger,” the report stated.
In two of the world’s most landmine-contaminated countries, Myanmar and Ukraine, the severe humanitarian impact of massive landmine use is being made horrifyingly clear.
In Myanmar, local aid groups say the ruling military junta’s use of landmines has escalated to unprecedented levels, while rebel groups are also deploying them. Roads and villages have been mined—ostensibly for military purposes, although many observers say they are just as often used to terrorize local populations—leading to not just civilian deaths and horrific injuries but also hindering vital medical care and aid efforts. Mines have been used in all 14 Myanmar states and regions, affecting about 60 percent of the country’s townships.
The mines have been an extra problem in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake at the end of March. The International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) said just days after the disaster, which killed more than 3,000 people, that as people relocated to areas less impacted by the earthquake and local and international organizations planned their response, ERWs were threatening not just the lives of those moving but also the safe delivery of humanitarian relief.
A group of HALO deminers with their equipment prepare for work. Credit: Tom Pilston/HALO
In Ukraine there has been extensive landmine use since Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022. Russian forces have mined vast swathes of land, while there have been reports that Ukrainian forces have also used anti-personnel mines. It is estimated approximately 174,000 square kilometers, almost 30 percent of Ukraine’s territory, are affected by landmines and ERWs.
“According to NATO, Ukraine is now the world’s most mine-affected country and has seen the most mine laying since World War II. The humanitarian impact of this contamination has been multifaceted—as well as vast swathes of prime farming land being contaminated, adversely affecting food security, civilian areas are also badly affected, including schools, residential zones, roads, and key infrastructure, leading to widespread displacement,” a spokesperson for the HALO Trust, a major humanitarian NGO carrying out demining operations around the world, including Ukraine, told IPS.
The spokesperson added that the effects of extensive landmine laying in the country may be felt for decades to come.
“HALO deminers are working in liberated areas, but it will take many years—if not decades— to clear Ukraine of landmines. Areas closest to the frontlines, such as Kharkiv and Sumy, are the areas where most people have been displaced, and some parts of these regions may remain uninhabitable until made completely safe. Any additional minelaying will extend the risk to civilian populations, agricultural production, and global trade for decades to come,” they said.
Anti-landmine campaigners also warn that if countries pull out of the Ottawa Convention, there is a risk that the use of landmines will become normalized.
“Increased acceptance [of landmines] could lead to wider proliferation and use, recreating the extensive contamination seen in Ukraine, Myanmar, and other conflict zones. In addition, withdrawal risks normalizing the rejection of humanitarian standards during times of insecurity, potentially undermining other crucial international norms. The ICBL has warned of a dangerous slippery slope where rejecting established norms during tense periods could lead to reconsideration of other banned weapons (e.g., chemical and biological weapons),” Charles Bechara, Communications Manager at ICBL, told IPS.
“Landmine survivors worldwide are shocked and horrified that European countries are about to undermine such progress and make the same mistake that dozens of other countries now regret. When European nations withdraw [from the Ottawa Convention], this sends a problematic message to countries facing internal or external security threats that such weapons are now acceptable,” he added.
However, it is not just withdrawals from the Ottawa Convention that are worrying anti-landmine groups.
Funding for demining efforts as well as services to help victims are under threat.
While the United States is not a signatory to the Ottawa Convention, it has been the largest contributor to humanitarian demining and rehabilitation programs for landmine survivors over the past 30 years. In 2023, it provided 39 percent of total international support to the tune of USD 310 million.
But the current halt to US foreign aid funding means that critical programs are now at risk, according to the ICBL.
“The US funding suspension threatens progress in heavily contaminated countries where casualty rates had been significantly reduced through consistent mine action work,” said Bechara.
He added the stop on funding would have “severe consequences for treaty implementation goals,” including the disruption or cessation of mine clearance operations in over 30 countries, a pause on victim assistance programs providing prosthetics and rehabilitation services, curtailment of risk education initiatives that help communities avoid mines, job losses at demining organizations, and problems implementing other humanitarian and development work because agencies depend on mine clearance to safely access areas.
Meanwhile, supporters of the Ottawa Convention are urging the countries currently intending to leave the landmine treaty to rethink their decisions.
“For Latvia and other countries considering withdrawal from the Mine Ban Convention, the ICBL is clear that weapons that predominantly kill and injure civilians cannot safeguard any nation’s security. Military experts, including Latvia’s own National Armed Forces commander, have concluded that modern weapon systems offer more effective defensive capabilities without the indiscriminate harm to civilians,” said Bechara.
“Despite the threats against the Mine Ban Treaty, the ICBL’s message is for countries to immediately cease their withdrawals and stand behind the treaty. Long-term security and safety cannot be ensured by a weakened international humanitarian law, which was conceived specifically to protect civilians in dire security situations,” he added.
Janet Ngombalu is Kenya Country Director, Christian Aid
Aerial view of Diff in Wajir South submerged in floodwaters, highlighting the devastating impact of heavy rains on homes and livelihoods – 2024. Credit: Pasca Chesach/Christian Aid Kenya
NAIROBI, Kenya, May 5 2025 (IPS) – Reflecting on this year’s IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings, one word lingers in my mind: uncertainty. The shifting global geopolitical landscape loomed large—none more so than the US administration’s initial threat to withdraw from the Bretton Woods institutions.
Although that threat was later withdrawn, it’s clear the US wants sweeping reforms. What exactly those changes will look like remains unknown, but it’s clear that the US wants the IMF and World Bank to focus more on its biggest shareholders rather than people and the planet. For countries in the Global South, like my own—Kenya—that could be disastrous.
As the world knows, the people of Kenya made their frustrations against the IMF known last year, with protests against IMF fiscal and austerity policies. And this unrest led to President William Ruto withdrawing a finance bill aiming to raise more than $2 billion in taxes.
Then, just last month, a four-year $3.6 billion IMF deal was terminated by mutual agreement. A new deal is now being negotiated—but finding balance will be difficult. The IMF is demanding fiscal consolidation, while the government is under immense pressure to ease the burden on a struggling population.
Without raising taxes, Kenya faces drastic cuts to public spending. But the people have had enough—and they shouldn’t be forced to endure more.
Dead livestock in Bubisa, Marsabit County due to prolonged drought: Credit: Pasca Chesach/Christian Aid Kenya
This is happening at a critical moment. The IMF is undergoing two major reviews this year that will shape its lending and surveillance approach for the next five years. If the Trump administration gains more sway over IMF leadership, civil society fears a regression to the 1990s era of even harsher austerity.
The reality on the ground in Kenya makes this unacceptable. We already face high taxes, and cuts to essential services are tearing the social fabric apart. Our health system is stretched beyond its limits.
Last year, doctors were driven to suicide under the weight of low pay, impossible hours, and the heartbreak of losing patients due to inadequate care.
School feeding programmes – lifelines for many children – have been cut. For some, that was the only meal of the day. Businesses are closing, jobs are vanishing, and those of us still employed are helping family members who are struggling.
A resident of Makueni fetches water from a community booth made possible through Christian Aid Kenya’s sand dam project, offering a reliable water source amid prolonged drought. Credit: Fauzia Hussein/Christian Aid Kenya
Meanwhile, the US is calling on the IMF and World Bank to scale back focus on gender equality and climate change. This is deeply alarming. As Kenya’s country director for Christian Aid, I am currently seeking emergency funds to respond to severe flooding in Marsabit and Wajir in the northeast of the country, which have also been heavily affected by drought.
Kenya loses up to KSh870 billion every year, around 3–5% of GDP, due to climate impacts. Yet we’ve done almost nothing to cause this crisis.
Women in particular continue to bear the brunt of IMF-imposed austerity. They face rising food prices head-on, as the ones more responsible for food shopping. They dominate the informal and public sectors – precisely the sectors most affected by spending cuts.
We had started to make scant progress in getting the IMF to consider these gendered impacts. Now, that progress is under threat.
There’s also growing unease about the politicisation of global financial governance. If the US gains even more influence over the IMF, will there be favouritism in lending decisions? The recent cancellation of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s trip to Kenya, following President Ruto’s visit to China, raises eyebrows.
The rise of this selfish, unilateral approach is troubling—and it’s already hurting us. Massive aid cuts are hitting hard. In addition to the proposed $60 billion USAID budget reduction, the UK, Germany, France, and the Netherlands have announced cuts totalling over $11 billion combined.
It feels as though the Global South is being abandoned in a power struggle we didn’t start. The IMF and World Bank, created in the colonial era, have always tilted toward northern interests. The US holds 16% of IMF voting power and therefore a veto over most important decisions which require 85% agreement. Meanwhile, the entire African continent holds just 4.7%. That imbalance is not only unjust; it’s unsustainable.
And now, it could get worse. But there is hope.
The upcoming Financing for Development Conference in Seville this June offers a rare and crucial opportunity. It is the only global forum where all countries negotiate economic governance on equal terms.
We must seize this moment to push for meaningful reform—debt relief, fairer international tax rules, and real climate finance. These are the changes we need to unlock a future where all countries have the tools and autonomy to shape their own development.
We cannot afford more uncertainty. We need control over our economic destiny, not to be tossed around by the shifting whims of the Global North.
Solomon Pili Kaaho’ohalahala shares perspectives with IPS. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS
BUSAN, Korea, Apr 30 2025 (IPS) – Indigenous people play a vital role in ocean protection due to their deep-rooted connection to the marine environment and their traditional knowledge of sustainable resource management. They often possess centuries-old practices and stewardship ethics that prioritize ecological balance and community well-being.
Recognizing and supporting indigenous leadership in ocean conservation is crucial for building a more sustainable future for the world’s oceans. Solomon Pili Kaho’ohalahala from the Maui Nui Makai Network spoke to IPS during the 10th Our Ocean Conference in Busan, Korea.
“My name is Solomon Pili Kaho’ohalahala. I am from the small island of Lanai in Hawaii. I’m an eighth-generation Lanai. As an indigenous Hawaiian, one thing that is really clear is that I grew up with the traditional practices of our kupuna, our ancestors, and our elders. These practices brought us into a very close relationship with the land and sea, and we learned to strike a balance between what we gather from the land and sea for our daily sustenance and what is left behind for future generations.
“This practice is very mindful of spawning seasons for our land and sea resources, whether they be plants, animals, or fish, and respects those seasons so that we leave them alone when they’re at their highest ability to perpetuate their species. By contrast, now that we are illegally a part of the United States, they have put their management systems and laws in place, and their systems are contrary to those of traditional Hawaiian practices.
“And what we find is that under their management, the resources are in decline. So, the number of fish, which I previously described as plentiful, is now declining. The seaweed, which is also a type of food for us, is declining.
“So, what we have asked the government, the state of Hawaii, is to allow the indigenous people to begin their own traditional management practices to help restore. The government has such a hard time allowing the indigenous people to be the caretakers and managers, even though we have thousands and thousands of years of experience, but the government wants to do it alone and push us aside. By excluding indigenous people, the government is failing.
“We therefore decided that we don’t need the government’s permission to be the caretakers of our resources. So, we created our own community of managers of our resource, and these are cultural people. We are applying our cultural practice from land and into sea and ensuring that all of these natural resources on land and underwater are cared for in their proper manner, and this ensures that the cycle of replenishment is not broken.
“And what we’ve been able to demonstrate is that we are finding success, but the government does not acknowledge this success. So, we are still not recognized as the people that should be the caretakers of these systems, because the experience is an indigenous one and this is a problem.
“We are hoping for opportunities where the government will allow the community to be the caretakers. It’s slow in coming, and we don’t have much time to implement this, because if we don’t, then we may lose our resources forever, and that would be a sad day. So, we are doing our part with our own initiatives, but we are also pushing the government to consider these traditional practices of the indigenous people as management practices in islands in the largest ocean on the planet.
“And it’s very slow, but we are not stopping. We are moving ahead. Now, we want to take that experience and elevate this conversation in the international arena, because now we are talking about not just an island where I live on, but I’m talking about the entire ocean in which I live in.
“And if the international bodies consider making rules and regulations to manage that large ocean without the indigenous people, then we would be creating something not any different from what I’ve been living with, where state governments try to manage and control without indigenous input. At the international level, we are asking, are you going to manage and control the large oceans of the earth without the indigenous people? It cannot be.”
Health workers getting ready for duty at an mpox treatment center in Lwiro in the Democratic Republic of Congo’, a hotspot for the pandemic that CD Africa handled in 2024. Credit: WHO
NAIROBI, Apr 24 2025 (IPS) – The majority of African countries are yet to commit 15 percent of their GDP to funding the health sector, despite the growing disease burden weighing down the continent and two decades after the coming into force of the Abuja declaration on health sector funding.
Only a few countries, including Rwanda, Botswana, and Cabo Verde, have consistently met the 15 percent target, with some countries allocating less than 10 percent of their budget to the crucial sector.
Under the Abuja Declaration of 2001, African Union (AU) member states made a commitment to end the continent’s health financing crisis, pledging to allocate at least 15 percent of national budgets to the sector. However, more than two decades later, only three countries—Rwanda, Botswana, and Cabo Verde—have consistently met or exceeded this target (WHO, 2023). In contrast, over 30 AU member states remain well below the 10 percent benchmark, with some allocating as little as 5–7 percent of their national budgets to health.
Countries including Nigeria, Chad, and the Central African Republic are allocating as little as 5–7 percent to the sector, thanks to a myriad of political and economic challenges, including a high debt burden and narrow tax base, according to Director General of Africa Centres for Disease Control (Africa CDC), Dr. Jean Kaseya.
Competing demands for security and infrastructure financing and limited coordination between ministries of health and finance, plus the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic “hit national budgets hard,” worsened by global economic instability, haven’t helped matters, he said, while commenting on the latest annual report of the continental health body and the 2025 concept paper on Africa’s Health Financing in a New Era, both released in April.
Wivine M’puranyi, a 30-year-old mother of six from the village of Karanda in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s South Kivu, reflects on the distressing days when her two daughters were diagnosed with mpox, one of the pandemics that hit Africa in 2024. Credit: WHO
“It also exposes just how costly underinvesting in health can be. The real story here is political will, where leaders prioritize health, and budgets follow,” he noted.
The report finds that only 16-29 percent of African countries currently have updated versions of the National Health Development Plan (NHDP) supported by a National Health Financing Plan (NHFP), the two documents being critical in driving internal resource mobilization.
“Updating National Health Development Plans (NHDPs) and National Health Financing Plans (NHFPs) is not just a matter of paperwork—it’s a heavy lift. Countries need robust data, skilled teams, funding, and strong inter-ministerial coordination,” he said.
Low funding has a consequence: it has led to many health departments being understaffed and overstretched, partly because some governments ‘deprioritize’ updating the two documents because they fear the plans won’t be implemented or be funded. “But without current, credible plans, it’s nearly impossible to make a case for more domestic or external investment. These documents are not bureaucratic checkboxes—they’re investment blueprints,” the DG told IPS.
He noted that countries that have updated and actively used their NHDPs and NHFPs have seen tangible benefits, one such country being Burkina Faso, where an updated NHFP had helped streamline funding and implementation for free healthcare policy.
In Senegal, incorporating macroeconomic forecasting into the NHFP improved budget predictability and donor alignment. “These tools are powerful when they are costly, realistic, and regularly monitored. But let’s be clear; plans must be funded and used—not just filed away—to make a real difference,” Kaseya added.
According to the documents, Africa continues to carry a disproportionate share of the global disease burden—25 percent—but with only 3 percent of the global health workforce, resulting in a “dangerously overstretched workforce,” according to the documents. Should this shortage be prioritized over all other health needs and deficiencies, or what should be addressed first?
The shortage of health workers remains a fundamental challenge, with Africa carrying 25 percent of the global disease burden but a disproportionate 3 percent of the global health workforce—a challenge that cannot be addressed “in isolation.”
Likobiso Posholi, 35, from Ha Sechele village in Mohale’s Hoek in Lesotho, recovering from a recent cesarean section. Many countries in Africa are yet to commit 15 percent of the national budgets so that women like Posholi can access affordable maternity services. Credit: WHO
However, recruiting en masse without sustainable financing or strategic deployment can strain the system, and in some countries, trained professionals remain unemployed due to fiscal constraints or wage bill ceilings. “Kenya, for example, is piloting co-financing mechanisms between national and local governments to overcome this. The key is to tackle workforce gaps through integrated, context-specific reforms that link financing, recruitment, and health system needs,” Kaseya said.
The Africa CDC has drafted a three-pronged strategy and placed it at the forefront of a health financing revolution that could potentially represent a paradigm shift from dependency to self-determination. Some aspects of the strategy can be implemented immediately without being subjected to a lot of bureaucracy in view of the emergency brought about by cuts in Overseas Development Assistance (ODA), he added.
Reductions in ODA went down by 70 percent between 2021 and 2025, exposing health systems to deep-rooted structural vulnerabilities and placing immense pressure on Africa’s already fragile health systems, with overseas financing being seen as the backbone of critical health programmes.
These include pandemic preparedness, maternal and child health services, and disease control initiatives, all of which are at risk, threatening Sustainable Development Goal 3 and Universal Health Coverage.
“Some components of our strategy can be rapidly deployed. Health taxes on products like tobacco, sugar, and alcohol are politically sensitive but technically straightforward and yield dual benefits, generating revenue and promoting healthier populations. Strengthening health financing units within ministries is a high-impact, low-cost intervention that can dramatically improve budget execution and efficiency,” Kaseya suggested.
Likewise, deploying digital tools—such as real-time dashboards to track financing flows—can happen quickly and with limited bureaucracy. Countries like Benin, South Africa, and Ethiopia are already implementing such reforms with measurable progress.
He pitched that digitization of the health sector is no longer a luxury, as it is foundational to the much-needed resilient, transparent, and efficient health systems.
On the other hand, the platforms improve decision-making, enable better resource tracking, and enhance service delivery. However, fragmentation of digital solutions remains a challenge, with many platforms developed in ‘silos,’ often “donor-driven and poorly integrated,” he commented.
He singled out Ghana, which offered a strong example of progress, having developed a national platform that integrates health and financing data. “The true value of digitization is realized when countries lead the process, ensure interoperability, and embed digital solutions into broader system reforms,” Kaseya said.
On the positive side, CDC Africa for the first time led an emergency response, putting in place a Joint Continental Incidence Management Support Team (IMST) co-led with the World Health Organization and bringing together over 28 partners to collaborate on the Mpox response. This work was done under the “One team with a One unified plan, One budget, and One monitoring framework.”
“This is a historic first that marked a significant milestone in Africa’s leadership of public health emergencies of continental significance,” the report observed.
It further supported national responses to “multiple major public health emergencies,” including the mpox outbreak in 20 AU member states and the Marburg virus disease outbreak in Rwanda. This was in declaring the former a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security (PHECS) on August 13, 2024, in consultation with the affected countries and relevant stakeholders.
Also on the positive side, the continental health body was advancing a comprehensive three-pillar strategy centered on domestic resource mobilization, innovative financing, and blended finance.
