Africa in the Wider World: The Unfinished Health Agenda in Africa

Some of the United States’ most vital and impactful relationships with African nations are in the health sector. In the past decade, over $50 billion has been committed to addressing HIV/AIDS through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR),1 and the investment of significant additional resources has led to dramatic advances in the prevention and treatment of infectious disease; improvements in maternal, newborn, and child health; better training of health workers and management of health systems; and progress on outbreak control. This expansive, historic engagement has earned the United States considerable good will, and it has prompted partner governments, international institutions, foundations, and other donors to increase their own commitments to health. It has also put a spotlight on the considerable unfinished health agenda in Africa and the need for the United States and others to look for new and innovative ways to expand affordable, equitable health services on the continent, including better leveraging the potential of the private sector to achieve future substantial gains in health in Africa.

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