President William Samoei Ruto has called for comprehensive reforms to the global health architecture to promote equity, strengthen preparedness and build resilient health systems, particularly for African countries.
The statement, delivered on his behalf by Principal Secretary for Medical Services Dr Ouma Oluga during a high-level African Union side event on multilateral health cooperation, underscored that the COVID-19 pandemic exposed structural inequities, including delayed vaccine access across the continent.
The President urged reforms to global financing mechanisms to ensure timely, affordable and predictable resources for pandemic preparedness and response, noting that growing debt vulnerabilities continue to limit fiscal space for health investments in many African countries.
He reaffirmed Kenya’s commitment to Universal Health Coverage, highlighting that more than 29 million Kenyans have been enrolled under the Social Health Insurance framework, with the most vulnerable populations fully subsidised by the Government.
President Ruto further emphasised the importance of a One Health approach, accelerated local pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturing, and strengthened collaborative research across Africa, supported by institutions such as the Kenya National Public Health Institute and the Kenya BioVax Institute.
He called on African nations to transition from fragmented and reactive health systems to a coordinated, South-led global health architecture anchored on shared sovereignty, sustainable domestic financing and innovative continental funding mechanisms.
