By Iyemah David
Gatefield, a public strategy and media group, will host a health summit in Abuja this month, uniting global and African leaders to shape a new agenda for resilient, equitable health systems in Africa.
Public Health Lead at Gatefield, Ms Omei Bongos, disclosed this to newsmen on Friday in Abuja.
She said the Health Summit 2025 was scheduled to take place from October 22 to 23 at Nile University, Abuja.
According to Bongos, Africa is facing a growing health emergency, with rising rates of chronic diseases, drug-resistant infections, and underfunded women’s and mental health services posing significant threats to millions of lives.
“Sub-Saharan Africa currently has less than eight per cent health insurance coverage, while chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes cut short nearly one in four lives.
“Alarmingly, drug-resistant infections now kill more Africans than HIV/AIDS or malaria, and without urgent action, antimicrobial resistance could claim 10 million lives annually by 2050, surpassing cancer as a leading cause of death,” she said.
According to her, the continent bears 25 per cent of the global disease burden but receives only three per cent of global health funding, forcing 150 million Africans into catastrophic health expenses each year.
“Women’s and mental health remain critically under-resourced: half of African women of reproductive age are anaemic, and 116 million Africans live with mental health conditions, yet funding remains minimal.
“Health resilience begins with systems that anticipate shocks, whether pandemics, drug resistance, or financial strain and protect the most vulnerable,” she said.
She said the summit would bring together policymakers, researchers, and private sector leaders.
Participants will include representatives from the World Bank, International Diabetes Federation, Pathfinder International, and Society for Family Health (SFH).
The focus will be on prioritising health system innovation, domestic financing, and data-driven governance.
Ms Shirley Ewang, Advocacy Lead at Gatefield, stated: “From food and funding to women’s health and medicines, the agenda recognises the shared truth that health systems must be built to endure.”
Ms Ewang added that the summit was expected to deliver actionable strategies for strengthening African health systems, tackling non-communicable diseases, improving access to medicines, and closing critical gaps in women’s and mental health services.
