Universal health coverage in Africa: WHO calls for faster progress

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Extract from the article: The World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Africa is organising a technical meeting in Lomé from 15 to 17 September 2026 to review the experiences and commitments made by the ministries of health of the 47 Member States of the WHO....

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The World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Africa is organising a technical meeting in Lomé from 15 to 17 September 2026 to review the experiences and commitments made by the ministries of health of the 47 Member States of the WHO African Region towards universal health coverage (UHC). The meeting will bring together planning directors and senior officials from the ministries of health of the Member States of the WHO African Region, WHO health policy advisers, technical officials from the Organisation, and partners. It aims to take stock of progress towards UHC, examine the main obstacles hindering progress, and identify the priorities and concrete actions needed to accelerate progress between now and 2030 and beyond.

Despite the progress made in access to essential health services in the WHO African Region, population growth is outpacing these advances. The number of people without full coverage by essential health services has risen from 576 million in 2017 to around 609 million in 2025. According to projections, this figure could reach 652 million by 2030 if the current pace of progress remains unchanged. This trend highlights a major challenge for the Region: the progress made is not yet fast enough to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population.

Financial protection also remains a major challenge. The proportion of the population facing financial hardship due to healthcare expenditure remains virtually unchanged, averaging around 33 per cent between 2017 and 2025. Due in particular to population growth, the number of people affected is projected to rise from 391 million in 2017 to 491 million in 2025 and could reach 561 million by 2030.

No country is expected to reach an index score of 80 by 2030

Since the adoption in 2017 of the Regional Action Framework for Universal Health Coverage, countries in the Region have made significant progress. The number of countries with a service coverage index below 40 has fallen from 17 in 2017 to just two in 2025.

However, the majority of countries still fall within the 40–59 range. Based on current trends, no Member State is expected to reach a coverage index of 80 by 2030.

‘The African Region has demonstrated that it is possible to make progress towards universal health coverage. But the data clearly show that the current pace will not be sufficient. We must accelerate progress, strengthen primary health care and ensure that everyone can access the quality care they need without facing financial hardship. At the same time, our approaches must take into account the specific realities and needs of the different countries in the Region,” said Dr Abdourahmane Diallo, Director of Programme Management at the WHO Regional Office for Africa.

Geographical accessibility is improving in Togo

Togo also faces significant challenges on its path towards universal health coverage.

Speaking on behalf of the Minister of Health, Dr Josée Yawa Djatugbé Apetsianyi, Director-General of Health Studies, Planning and Information (DGEPIS), highlighted two main challenges: geographical accessibility and financial accessibility to health services. In geographical terms, Togo has made significant progress. “Today, the rate of geographical accessibility to health services stands at 90.7 per cent,” she stated. This means that less than 10 per cent of the population lives more than five kilometres from a health centre. This improvement is largely due to the investments made in recent years by the Togolese government with the support of its partners. The second challenge concerns financial accessibility to care.

Primary healthcare at the heart of the acceleration

Strengthening primary healthcare will be at the heart of this new phase. Effective primary healthcare brings high-quality, integrated and continuous health services closer to people and communities.

Accelerating progress towards UHC will also require strengthening financial protection, ensuring that the number and skills of healthcare workers are commensurate with needs, guaranteeing reliable access to essential health products and technologies, and improving the use of data to inform decision-making.

Over the course of the three-day meeting, countries will review the available data and share their experiences in order to identify approaches that work, areas where progress has been made, and the changes that are still needed.

Raymond DZAKPATA & Eméline DJESSOU (Stagiaire)