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African heads of state have been called upon to honour the 15 per cent health budget commitment promised under the Abuja declaration.
This they must prioritise as they commit to the health sector.
The President of the International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA), Dr David Pagwesese Parirenyatwa, who gave the advice, said the 2030 Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) were five years away and if they did not prioritise health and put at the forefront of the Africa development agenda, they would not be able to meet the 95-95-95 HIV target.
“We are aware a few of the African countries have already reached that target, but the majority have not yet. There is no way we can make meaningful progress in the fight against HIV and AIDS and other diseases without significant increases in health funding and commitment from African governments,” he said.
Dr Parirenyatwa said this last Thursday at the first international steering committee meeting of ICASA 2025.
ICASA is a major conference on AIDS held exclusively in Africa biennially by the Society for AIDS (SAA).
So far, the conference has been hosted in 15 countries, with more than 100,000 participants.
The 23rd edition of ICASA, which is being hosted by Ghana from December 3 to 8, 2025, is expected to convene more than 10,000 delegates from nearly 150 countries, including over 200 journalists.
Dr Parirenyatwa said health was not a cost but rather an investment in economic and social development, adding that Africa must take its own resources like diamonds, gold and oil and invest them into the health systems of their respective countries.
Quoting the World Bank's key demographic projections, he said Africa’s population would reach a record 1.7 billion by 2040, with 40 per cent being under the age of 15 years, and asked how the continent would ensure that future workforce was productive and able to contribute to the continent’s development when the continent did not have at least a basic functional universal healthcare system.
“Let us not wait any longer. It is time we produce our own vaccines and medications. We hope that this will reduce our dependence on foreign aid and pharmaceutical imports,” he said.
Dr Parirenyatwa stated that all Africans needed to know their HIV health status, saying this could not be ignored in this era where there had been scientific breakthroughs, including pre or post-exposure prophylaxis access; injectable treatment and all other tools that could be used maximally in every country.
The Director of Technical Coordination at the Ministry of Health, Dr Hafez Adam Taher, who spoke on behalf of the sector minister, said Ghana's hosting of ICASA 2025 came at a time when it had made notable strides in its national response to HIV-AIDS.
He mentioned these to include expansion of access to antiretroviral therapy; reduction of mother-to-child transmission and improving community-based care and support services.
The Director General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Dr Kyeremeh Atuahene, expressed the readiness of the commission to host the conference, elaborating that they were already setting up a national planning committee in conjunction with the organisers so that they would be driving all the activities in terms of planning, organisation and administration of the conference.
