Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: APO

Facing a projected shortage of more than six million health professionals by 2035, African countries are stepping up efforts to strengthen their workforce, with a new decade-long plan announced on Wednesday during a meeting of health ministers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Key points

• The new plan calls for coordinated investment to ensure countries have a skilled, motivated and adequately supported workforce capable of meeting Africa’s rapidly growing health needs
• The agenda marks a shift from simply training more health workers to building sustainable, well-planned and equitably distributed health systems 
• African health ministers also endorsed a new regional strategy to give every child the best possible start in life

Adopted during the 76th session of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee for Africa, the Health Workforce Management Programme in Africa (2026–2035) aims to transform health-sector labour markets.

The ministers approved a 10-year programme to train, employ and retain three million additional health workers in a major push to bolster health systems across the continent.

“Our Member States have recognised that training health professionals is only the beginning,” said Dr. Mohamed Yakub Janabi, WHO regional director for Africa.

“This programme turns evidence into concrete action and political commitment into sustainable investments for Africa’s health workforce and, ultimately, for the health and well-being of our populations,” 

More health workers, but still not enough

The commitment comes as Africa’s health workforce has grown significantly over the past decade, reaching nearly 5.72 million professionals in 2024.

Yet, the increase remains far short of what is needed. The continent currently has only about 46 per cent of the health workers required to meet its needs, leaving millions of people without adequate access to essential health services.

Without decisive action, the shortfall could exceed six million professionals by 2035.

Chronic staff shortages

At the same time, Africa faces a striking paradox: health facilities are struggling with staff shortages while nearly one million trained health professionals are unemployed, with recent graduates particularly affected.

In many countries, more than half of newly qualified nurses, doctors and midwives are unable to find work shortly after completing their training.

For WHO, the situation underscores the need to better align education and training with labour-market demand, job creation and sustainable financing, while strengthening long-term workforce planning.

Small investment, potentially big returns

The new programme provides countries with a roadmap to improve workforce planning, expand quality training, create more employment opportunities and retain skilled professionals in the areas where they are most needed.

WHO also highlights the economic case for investing in health workers. Closing Africa’s workforce gap would require an additional $4 to $6 per person each year.

The potential returns, however, are substantial. Every dollar invested in health workers could generate up to $10 in economic benefits and roughly 30 times that amount in broader social returns, through better health, higher productivity and stronger economies.

New regional strategy

Deliberations on the policies and priorities are expected at the Addis Ababa meeting through 28 August, with decisions shaping the region’s health agenda in the coming year and beyond, including a newly endorsed regional strategy to give every child the best possible start in life. 

The strategy calls for coordinated action across health, nutrition, social protection, water and sanitation, education, finance and other sectors, recognising that no single sector can meet the needs of children alone. 

At its heart is a commitment to supporting parents, caregivers and communities, who play the most important role in helping children survive, grow, learn and thrive, according to WHO.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN News.

Source: APO

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Millions of people in Africa rely on medicines, vaccines, diagnostic tests and medical devices without worrying about the systems that ensure they are safe, effective and of good quality. Behind every product that reaches a patient is a regulatory system working to protect public health.

Today, Ministers of Health from across the WHO African Region took an important step to strengthen those systems by endorsing a new regional strategy that will help countries improve the regulation of medical products over the next decade.

The Regional Strategy on Regulation of Medical Products in the African Region (2026–2035) comes at a time when countries are expanding access to essential health products, strengthening local manufacturing and preparing for future public health emergencies. Effective regulatory systems are fundamental to these efforts, ensuring that medicines, vaccines, blood products, diagnostics and medical devices consistently meet internationally accepted standards of quality, safety and effectiveness.

Over the past decade, the African Region has made progress in strengthening regulatory systems. The African Medicines Regulatory Harmonization initiative has expanded collaboration among countries, while the African Medicines Agency has become operational, creating new opportunities for regulatory cooperation across the continent. The number of national regulatory authorities achieving WHO Maturity Level 3, an internationally recognized benchmark indicating a stable and well-functioning regulatory systems, has increased from one in 2018 to eight in 2025. Yet significant gaps remain, with most countries continuing to strengthen their regulatory capacity.

“Strong regulatory systems protect lives, strengthen confidence in health systems and create the foundation for local innovation, manufacturing and faster access to quality-assured health products. This strategy reflects our collective commitment to ensuring that everyone in Africa can benefit from medical products they can trust,” said Dr Mohamed Yakub Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa.

The new strategy outlines a roadmap for the next decade to strengthen regulatory systems across the Region. It aims to increase the number of regulatory authorities reaching WHO Maturity Level 3, support the development of regulatory authorities operating at internationally recognized levels of performance, strengthen the African Medicines Agency, expand the use of digital regulatory systems and improve preparedness for future public health emergencies.

Recognizing that no country can address increasingly complex regulatory challenges alone, the strategy also promotes greater collaboration through joint product assessments, shared inspections and increased reliance on regulatory decisions made by trusted authorities. These approaches will help improve efficiency, reduce duplication and accelerate access to quality-assured medical products while making the best use of limited resources.

As countries implement the strategy over the next decade, stronger regulatory systems are expected to improve access to quality-assured medical products, reinforce public confidence in health systems and support Africa’s growing ambition to manufacture and regulate more of the health products its people need. Together, these efforts will help build resilient regulatory systems that protect public health, support universal health coverage, strengthen health security and foster sustainable development across the African Region.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of WHO Regional Office for Africa.

Source: APO

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African health ministers, development partners, heads of African Union and regional health institutions today agreed on a renewed continental agenda to accelerate the elimination of multiple diseases in the region, committing to ensuring that disease elimination remains a priority within broader health and development agenda.

Meeting during a high-level ministerial side event held on the margins of the Seventy-sixth session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa, the health leaders also endorsed the Addis Ababa Call to Action on Protecting and Accelerating Multi-Disease Elimination in Africa which aims to boost country ownership, domestic investment in health and improve resilient health systems that are capable of responding to multiple public health challenges.

This meeting comes at a time when the region is making major progress in eliminating and controlling diseases that have long-burdened communities. Over the past decade, for example, there has been significant progress in the elimination of neglected tropical diseases. Leprosy has been almost completely eliminated as a public health problem in the region with only one country yet to achieve the elimination target. In addition, 41 African countries have to date been certified free of Guinea worm disease, a debilitating parasitic infection. In 2025 alone, Burundi, Mauritania and Senegal eliminated trachoma; Niger became the first African country to eliminate river blindness; and Guinea and Kenya eliminated sleeping sickness. In other disease areas, Botswana achieved gold tier status on the Path to Elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV as a public health problem and Cabo Verde, Mauritius and Seychelles eliminated measles and rubella.

“As a region, we have made great strides towards multiple disease elimination goals,” said Dr Mohamed Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “These achievements highlight the impact of sustained political commitment, strong health systems and effective partnerships. What we need now is to sustain these gains, invest more and push further”.

The Addis Ababa Call to Action emphasized the need to move beyond disease-specific interventions towards integrated approaches that strengthen primary health care and deliver results across multiple disease programmes. Partners reaffirmed commitment to supporting country-led elimination efforts and underscored the need for continued collaboration to ensure that recent achievements are sustained and expanded to benefit more communities across the region.

Participants also acknowledged persistent challenges, including funding constraints, limited integration of disease programmes into national health systems, weak diagnostic and data management capacity and insecurity in some countries. These challenges, they noted, could reverse hard-won gains if not addressed through coordinated action and sustained investment.

WHO reaffirmed its commitment to working with Member States, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and partners to provide technical support, facilitate partnerships and monitor progress towards elimination targets.

“The call to action from this meeting reflects the region’s collective determination to protect hard-won gains and ensure that elimination efforts remain a priority,” said Colonel-Major Dr Garba Hakimi, Minister of Public Health, Population and Social Affairs, Niger. By strengthening country leadership and investing in resilient health systems, we can accelerate progress and improve the health and well-being of millions of people across the region.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of WHO Regional Office for Africa.

Source: APO

The construction of Bunyoro University will soon commence following the approval of architectural designs and the UPDF Engineering Brigade lined up to undertake the first phase of the project.

The revelation was made by the Minister of State for Education and Sports, Hon. Peter Ogwang said that Shs4 billion has been allocated in the current financial year to start construction of a multipurpose building.

“We plan to start the phase with the available resources as we mobilise for additional funds. Government remains committed to the establishment of Bunyoro University,” Ogwang said during the sitting of the House on Wednesday, 26 August 2026.

Ogwang’s pronouncement followed a motion moved by Hoima City Woman Representative Asinansi Nyakato calling for establishment of the university.

He said the first phase of infrastructure development requires Shs177.5 billion, leaving a substantial funding shortfall. The minister added that the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development has been engaged to mobilise additional resources for the project.

Ogwang added that the government is finalising a memorandum of understanding with the UPDF Engineering Brigade to allow construction to commence.

Nyakato said the establishment of Bunyoro Public University was long overdue, despite repeated government commitments. She added that that the continued delays have denied residents equitable access to affordable university education.

“Establishment of the university constitutes both a matter of regional equity, skills development and qualification attainment for Uganda’s oil and gas sector development and broader industrialization,” Nyakato said.

She said the university will provide relevant technical and professional training, support research and innovation and prepare the locals participate in the oil economy.

Bugangaizi East County MP, Hon. Onesimus Twinamasiko supported the proposed focus on engineering, science and other programmes relevant to the emerging oil industry saying this will be both timely and beneficial.

Hoima West Division MP, Hon. Ismail Kasule described the establishment of the university as a matter of equity noting that Bunyoro comprises 13 districts but does not have a public university.

Hon. Jane Avur Pacuto (NRM, Pakwach Woman MP) asked the government to incorporate the university firmly into the National Development Plan saying it will create employment, strengthen human-capital development and expand the national tax base.

“In the National Development Plan IV, government is focusing on human development and the university should be one of the outputs.  We have been talking about how we are grappling with unemployment, through this university many people will be employed,” Pacuto said. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.

Source: APO

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Zambian authorities suddenly closed and cordoned off the courts without credible explanation on August 24, 2026, effectively blocking the filing of any legal challenges to the results of the August 13 presidential election, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should immediately allow the courts to reopen.

Zambian police stated that the closures were an “intelligence-led and preventive measure,” without providing details. A notice from the chief administrator of the judiciary to court staff, seen by Human Rights Watch, said the court premises were closed “for security reasons.” The notice said guidance on opening the courts “will be issued in due course, once the situation is contained.” The courts’ closure coincided with the deadline to file any legal challenges to declaring the incumbent, President Hakainde Hichilema, the winner. 

“The courts play a vital role in protecting the rights guaranteed under Zambia’s constitution for resolving election-related disputes,” said Allan Ngari, Africa advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “Measures that effectively deny the opposition crucial access to the courts to challenge the conduct and validity of the presidential election are a blow to the administration of law, transparency, and due process in Zambia.”

Under article 103 of the Constitution of Zambia, court challenges to election outcomes must be filed within seven days of the declaration of results. Challengers may petition the Constitutional Court to nullify the election of the declared winner on the grounds that the person was not validly elected; or that a provision of the constitution or other law relating to presidential elections was not complied with.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia declared President Hichilema the winner on August 18. The official tally had him winning 60.7 percent of the vote, with 38 percent for his opponent, Brian Mundubile. Following the announcement, Mundubile alleged “serious irregularities, inconsistencies and circumstances surrounding the conduct, counting, transmission, and declaration of results” and said he would challenge the results in court. 

From the declaration of the results on August 18, the last day on which a petition challenging the results of the presidential election could have been lawfully filed was August 24.

Closing the courts under the circumstances raises serious concerns, particularly for the administration of justice in Zambia, Human Rights Watch said. 

One lawyer told Human Rights Watch that he arrived at the High Court in Lusaka on the morning of August 24 to find the premises cordoned off by heavily armed police officers, who ordered him to leave.

A statement signed by seven Zambian civil society organizations said sealing off court premises across the country and suspending judicial services entirely had deprived Zambians of their constitutional right to file an electoral challenge and have it heard. The organizations stated that “the right of access to the courts is meaningless if the courts can simply be closed at the precise moment citizens most need them.”

The Law Association of Zambia raised concerns, in a media statement, that beyond the memorandum to judiciary staff, the authorities had provided no explanation or justification for closing the courts. All of this fuels concerns that the real reason for closing the courts was to frustrate the right of aggrieved parties to challenge the election results, Human Rights Watch said.

Under international human rights law, Zambia is required to uphold the independence of its courts. The judiciary should be free from “improper influences, inducements, pressures, threats, or interferences.” Human rights law also requires Zambia to offer effective pathways to a remedy for human rights violations, which requires meaningful access to justice, including through the courts.

“Any security measures affecting the courts should be strictly necessary, proportionate, and time-limited, while preserving access for urgent filings,” Ngari said. “No one should be denied an effective remedy because the courts were unavailable during a constitutionally prescribed filing period. Meaningful access to an independent judiciary is essential to public confidence in Zambia’s electoral process and the rule of law.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Source: APO

On 25 August 2026, H.E. Mr. Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, held bilateral talks with H.E. Mrs. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, in Abuja, to discuss ways to further strengthen Thailand – Nigeria bilateral relations, building upon the cordial relations and cooperation between the two countries across various areas.

Both sides agreed to expand cooperation in trade, investment, manufacturing, energy, agriculture, digital technology and services, as well as promote private-sector linkages through enhanced cooperation between the chambers of commerce of the two countries. The Deputy Prime Minister noted that Thailand regards Nigeria as an important strategic partner in Africa and that the two countries have potential as gateways connecting Africa and Southeast Asia. The Nigerian side, meanwhile, viewed Thailand as a successful model in various areas, including development, education, agriculture, culture and tourism, and expressed readiness to exchange knowledge and experiences in these areas.

The Deputy Prime Minister highlighted the Thailand–Africa Initiative (TAI), which aims to promote comprehensive engagement with Africa across the pillars of political, economic and development cooperation, as well as multilateral cooperation. Thailand also expressed willingness to share its development experience, for example, through the Thailand – Nigerian Sustainable Agricultural Technology Learning Centre project between the Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA) and the Federal Cooperative College, Oji River, in Enugu State, which has potential to be expanded into other areas, including trilateral cooperation among Thailand, Nigeria and other African countries, as well as regional African organization, such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU).

On this occasion, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Technical Cooperation, establishing a framework for consultations and advancing practical development cooperation. The signing marks an important milestone in further strengthening bilateral relations.

In addition, the Deputy Prime Minister announced that he would host the Thailand – Nigeria Business Forum in Lagos on 27 August 2026, bringing together Thai businesses to explore investment opportunities in Nigeria. Both sides underscored that stronger private-sector cooperation would significantly catalyze the translation of the Thailand – Nigeria partnership into tangible outcomes.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand.

Source: APO

The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to achieving sustainable electricity supply across Nigeria’s health facilities, with the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, describing reliable power as a critical determinant of health outcomes.

Dr. Salako stated this on Wednesday at the official launch of the Renewable Asset Management Company (RAMCO) of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), held at the Congress Hall, Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, with the theme, “Powering Sustainable Growth: Launching Nigeria’s Renewable Asset Management Company.”

The Minister said the sustainability of renewable-energy infrastructure was particularly important to the health sector because electricity in healthcare facilities was not merely an infrastructure requirement but a critical clinical input.

Speaking as both a physician and a Minister, he explained that electricity powers essential services such as vaccine cold chains, oxygen concentrators, operating theatres and neonatal incubators, stressing that power failure in health facilities could translate into loss of time, reduced quality of care and, in some cases, loss of life.

The Minister also acknowledged the interventions of the Federal Ministry of Power and the REA in supporting the electrification of health facilities.

He noted that under the Energizing Education Programme, federal tertiary health institutions, including teaching hospitals in Maiduguri and Calabar, had benefited from renewable-energy interventions, while under the Nigeria Electrification Project, 100 health facilities had received 50-kilowatt containerised solar hybrid systems, with a second phase targeting 400 Primary Health Care Centres.

Despite these interventions and the support of development partners, Dr. Salako said energy poverty remained a major challenge within Nigeria’s health system.

According to him, between 60 and 70 per cent of Nigeria’s primary and tertiary health facilities experience frequent power outages or have no electricity at all, while about 40 per cent of functional Primary Health Care Centres have no electricity access.

He further noted that most of the remaining facilities receive only about six to ten hours of electricity daily, while teaching hospitals requiring between three and eight megawatts for optimal operation receive roughly five hours of grid supply daily and may commit as much as 40 to 50 per cent of their operating expenditure to energy, much of it on diesel.

Dr. Salako recalled that against this background, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, approved the establishment of the Nigeria Power-for-Health Initiative following the first National Stakeholders’ Dialogue on Power in the Health Sector held in September 2025.

He said the dialogue resulted in a Compact for the Sustainable Electrification of Public and Private Health Facilities, signed by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Federal Ministry of Power, sub-national governments, the Committee of CMDs/MDs, the private sector, development partners and civil society.

The Compact, he further said, established a clear target of ensuring that at least 30 per cent of health facilities in Nigeria have steady power supply by the end of 2027, alongside an implementation plan and governance structure involving relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies, including the REA.

The Minister emphasised that government alone could not finance the scale of energy infrastructure required across Nigeria’s health system, stressing the need to mobilise private capital, development finance, climate finance and innovative financing mechanisms.

He said the objective was not simply to install solar panels or batteries, but to build resilient health infrastructure capable of delivering reliable power over the long term, reiterating that this is where RAMCO becomes particularly relevant to the health sector.

Dr. Salako explained that evidence from solar systems installed in Nigerian Primary Health Care Centres indicates that more than 30 per cent become non-functional within three years of commissioning, with the problem often linked not to the technology itself but to inadequate preventive maintenance, unavailable spare parts, lack of dedicated budgetary provisions and unclear responsibility for the assets after project completion.

He said RAMCO’s asset-management model—build, operate, optimise, aggregate, refinance and reinvest—could help transform renewable-energy installations from short-term projects into professionally managed national infrastructure assets.

The Minister proposed four areas of practical synergy between RAMCO and the Nigeria Power-for-Health Initiative.

First, he called for health facilities to be recognised as a distinct asset class within RAMCO’s portfolio, beginning with teaching hospitals and health facilities already solarised under existing Federal Government programmes.

Second, he advocated the integration of RAMCO’s professional asset-management model with Facility Energy Management Teams being institutionalised in hospitals, noting that effective sustainability requires both on-site technical ownership and professional management.

Third, he called for RAMCO’s asset register to be integrated with health-facility energy audits, stressing that improved data would enable both sectors to plan and invest from a common evidence base.

Fourth, he proposed that a defined share of the capital recycled by RAMCO should be directed towards Primary Health Care Centres, particularly facilities that may be less commercially attractive but are critical to improving maternal and newborn health outcomes.

“For our part, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare commits to offering RAMCO a seat within the Inter-Agency Technical Committee of the Power-for-Health Initiative,” he said.

He further pledged that the Ministry would advance electricity as a dedicated budget line across all tiers of healthcare, complete and regularly update facility energy audits, enforce certification and installation standards, including NEMSA certification, and harmonise partner and private-sector interventions under government leadership.

Dr. Salako stressed that a credible asset-management framework would make healthcare electrification more attractive to long-term investors by ensuring that renewable assets are professionally managed, performance data are transparent, maintenance is predictable and payment structures are credible.

The Minister reiterated that Nigeria’s target of achieving steady power supply in at least one-third of its health facilities by the end of 2027 would not be achieved through procurement alone.

“We will reach it by building assets that last, and by managing them as the national infrastructure they are,” he stated.

He concluded with a call for RAMCO to help ensure that sustainable renewable-energy infrastructure keeps the lights on where they matter most—in facilities delivering essential healthcare to Nigerians, and congratulated the REA, the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) and InfraCorp on the launch of RAMCO, assuring the Ministry of Health continued support.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Federal Ministry of Health & Social Welfare, Nigeria.