Securing the Future of Primary Health Care: Innovative and Sustainable Financing Pathways for Africa
📅 Date: 24 October 2025
🕓 Time: 16:00–17:30 SAST
📍 Venue: Meeting Room 12,Durban, South Africa
Speakers
Soleine Scotney, Co-CEO Financing Alliance for Health
Soleine Scotney is health financing and political economy expert with 15+ years of experience in overseeing PHC programs, leading teams towards health system strengthening, and a track record of successful partnerships within the global health architecture. After starting her career by three years at The Boston Consulting Group's healthcare practice, she joined The Global Fund in 2012, co-developing the New Funding Model and supporting early roll out to 7 countries, before its full roll out in 100+ countries. Joining CHAI in 2014, she led vaccine program expansion across 10+ countries in Africa, supporting Ministries of Health in their efforts towards polio eradication and the introduction of new vaccines now saving over 135,000 lives per year. She then led CHAI’s vaccines market shaping team, securing over $150M in savings for LMICs through pooled procurement. As CHAI Cambodia’s Country Director (2020–2025) and Asia Pacific Regional advisor, she led eleven health programs (HIV, TB, malaria, SRMNH, vaccines, non-communicable diseases, Diagnostics, Oxygen systems, Digital health and health financing). She was awarded Cambodia’s Grand Cambodia Knight Medal by Royal Decree for her support to the Ministry of Health. She also co-chaired the Global Fund CCM Oversight Committee in Cambodia. She serves on Gavi's Independent Review Commitee (.IRC) She holds dual master’s degrees in international political economy and finance from LSE and Sciences Po, obtained with distinction.
Dr Omar Ahmed Omar, Division of Health Financing, Ministry of Health, Kenya
Dr.Omar is a leading expert in health management and policy in the health sector in Kenya with over 24 years experience working at different levels in the public and non-governmental sectors in Kenya, Sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia. During his career this has included positions as District and Provincial Health Director in the Ministry of Health in Kenya. He also worked at the Ministry of Health headquarters as Head Division of Community Health, Division of Health Financing and as Program Manager for a World Bank and Global Financing Facility funded project.
Dr. Omar is passionate about health sector policy reforms and universal health coverage and oversees Options’ large-scale Africa regional level programmes. Omar earned both his undergraduate and masters in Public Health from the University of Nairobi, has a PhD in Community Health and Development from the Great Lakes University, undertook a Post-Doctoral fellowship in Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and holds a certificate in Health Dentralization from Harvard University.
Dr. Michael Matthew Amara, Team Lead, Sierra Leone Social Health Insurance (SLeSHI), Ministry of Health, Sierra Leone.
Dr. Michael Matthew Amara is Sierra Leone’s leading Health Economist, with over 25 years of experience in healthcare financing and policy reforms. Currently a Fellow of Africa Institute of Public Health. (FAIPH). Since 2006, he has served as Principal Health Economist at the Ministry of Health, where he led the development of Performance-Based Financing (PBF) system, Resource Mapping and Expenditure Tracking (RMET) and National Health Accounts (NHA)
Dr. Amara played a key role in the National Health Sector and Healthcare Financing Strategic Plans (2021-2025) and presently leads the Sierra Leone Social Health Insurance (SLeSHI) project. His international experience includes work with World Bank, WHO and UNFPA.
He holds a PhD and MPhil in Health Financing with further training from the University of York and University of Washington. A published researcher and AFHEA member, Dr. Amara is a key voice in Sierra Leone’s health reform efforts.
Dr. Mwiti Makathimo. Head, External Affairs & Strategic Partnerships,Sub-Saharan Africa Region, Novartis Global Health
Dr. Mwiti Makathimo Dr. Mwiti Makathimo is the Head of External Affairs and Strategic Partnerships at Novartis Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In his current role, he is focused on positively shaping the healthcare ecosystem through strategic policy advocacy initiatives and impactful multi-sectoral partnerships. Thereby delivering health systems transformation essential for the attainment of good health/wellbeing for all populations enabled by universal access to quality healthcare.
As a public health physician with over a decade of driving transformative impact in the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Makathimo has a keen interest on the
synergistic intersection between the health sector and all other sectors, as well
as the pivotal significance of health towards assuring sustainable development
and remarkable progress for everyone everywhere.
Mr Lazarous Mwelwa, Assistant Director, Budget Formulation, Ministry of Finance and National Planning, Republic of Zambia
Mr. Lazarous Mwelwa is a distinguished public finance professional with over two decades of experience in fiscal policy, public expenditure management, and national budgeting reforms. He was instrumental in designing Zambia’s Output-Based Budgeting (OBB) System, first piloted in 2015 and later in 2021 scaled nationally, and contributed to the establishment of the National Health Insurance Management Authority (NHIMA) as part of Zambia’s Universal Health Coverage team. His expertise spans expenditure forecasting, fiscal decentralization, policy formulation, and aligning public budgets with social and economic development goals.
Mr. Mwelwa holds a Master’s degree in Economics from Central Michigan University (USA) and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Saint Petersburg State University of Economics and Finance (Russia). He has further specialized in Leadership for Universal Health Coverage (World Bank & GIZ), Social Safety Nets (World Bank, Washington D.C.), and Fiscal Decentralization and Public Financial Management (Duke University, USA).
Background
Primary health care (PHC), with community health at its centre, is the frontline of Africa’s health systems. It is where most people turn first for care and where health security begins. Yet financing for PHC is dangerously low. In some African countries, governments spend as little as US $8 per person per year on PHC - less than one-tenth of the US $60–86 the World Health Organization estimates is needed for a basic package of services. For years, external assistance helped fill these gaps, but aid to Africa has fallen 70% from 2021 to 2025 , putting frontline services at risk.
For years, external assistance helped fill these gaps, but aid to Africa has fallen sharply, putting frontline services at risk. This year, only one out of the 55 African countries allocated more than 5 % of GDP to health while only two out of 55 countries have met the 15 % Abuja Declaration commitment. If nothing is done, the financing gap for universal health coverage (UHC) in low- and middle-income countries could reach US $371 billion, about US $58 per person annually by 2030.
This side event will explore how Africa can secure the future of PHC financing through innovative and sustainable pathways, with governments leading and partners working in close collaboration to align support behind country priorities. It will highlight three practical pathways using diverse country cases. First, bringing more money into health, through approaches such as sin taxes (e.g., Zambia), debt swaps, and natural resource revenues (in Ghana). Second, ensuring more of this money is directed to PHC and community health, with predictable budget lines and allocations (e.g., Kenya). Third, getting more health for every dollar spent, by strengthening budget execution and public financial management so resources translate into real services.
The session will convene a diverse panel of leaders, policy makers and partners to share lessons and chart practical pathways for financing PHC. It will show how countries are stepping up to build self-reliance, protect frontline services, and move Africa closer to universal health coverage.
ABOUT CPHIA2025
The annual International Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA) is organised by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and provides a unique African-led platform for leaders across the continent to reflect on lessons learned in health and science and to share innovative and practical evidence-based public health solutions to champion Africa’s health challenges.
CPHIA aims to engage this diverse gathering to support building strong, resilient and equitable health systems, preparing Africa for the next pandemic and accelerating the local manufacturing of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics in Africa.
CPHIA was first held virtually in 2021 and in-person in 2022 and 2023 in Kigali, Rwanda, and Lusaka, Zambia, respectively. CPHIA has become the largest health conference globally.
As African countries accelerate the realisation of universal health coverage, annual CPHIAs are helping define how the continent can become more self-reliant in the delivery of public health solutions to achieve a healthier, more prosperous Africa.
