// ADVOCACY
A new era of global health leadership begins in Africa “Africa is no longer a passive participant in global health, but an active architect of its direction, priorities and outcomes” 1
Axel Radlach Pries, President, World Health Summit
NAIROBI SIGNALS A NEW ERA IN GLOBAL HEALTH LEADERSHIP The President of Kenya, H.E. Dr. William Samoei Ruto, aptly conveyed the unifying mood and approach at the WHS Regional Meeting in April 2026: the continent is making significant strides towards health sovereignty, as well as sustainable financ- ing and coverage. The meeting was hosted by the Aga Khan University in Nairobi for the WHS Academic Alliance, 2,3 with the WHO Regional Office for Africa (WHO), the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the Kenyan Ministry of Health as convening partners. The success of the meeting indicates a remarkable shift in health leadership and could serve as an example of successful multilateral collaboration. Indeed, 16 ministers of health from Africa and Europe joined the meeting in Nairobi, thereby emphasising the importance of health and the need for international cooperation. FROM THE WHS REGIONAL MEETING TO THE G7 AGENDA This collaborative and optimistic spirit carried by the WHS Regional Meet-
ing should be transferred to the G7 summit, hosted by France in June 2026. It is a strong signal that, in these trou- bling times, French President Emmanuel Macron has invited Kenyan President Ruto to the G7 summit in France. The lead- ers of India and Brazil, Narendra Modi and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, have also been invited by Macron. The backdrop to this G7 summit is the many armed conflicts around the world, such as the wars in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan and Iran as well as an increasingly tense diplomatic situation with a gridlock in the Security Council. This situation does make it very clear that the G7 summit cannot achieve its mandate acting as an exclusive gathering historically dominated by a few countries; instead, it needs to open itself to a changing world. RESHAPING GLOBAL HEALTH FINANCING The recent, disruptive changes in global politics have severe repercussions for the global health architecture, which has to accommodate massive changes in financ- ing and governance mechanisms. The sudden withdrawal of the United States from the WHO and the drastic reduction
Audience at the Opening Ceremony of the WHS Regional Meeting in Nairobi, 27 April, 2026
in official development assistance (ODA) by the US has immediate and destructive consequences. However, we have also seen more gradual reductions of ODA by sev- eral other donor states, reflecting a change in the global economic power distribution. Thus, this moment signals the need and opportunity to adapt concepts, mecha- nisms and support for health care with the aim of achieving more sustainability and sovereignty in the long term. Countries, especially in Africa, which were traditionally dependent on ODA financing for their health systems are increasingly taking responsibility for strengthening local ownership. To adequately equip healthcare systems, recent estimates suggest that around 10 to 15% of national budgets should be allocated to health as an investment in well-being, prosperity and security. 4 At the WHS Regional Meeting, many innovative approaches to achieving this goal were presented and discussed, such as Africa CDC’s launch of the African
84 // G7 FRANCE: THE ÉVIAN SUMMIT 2026
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