“One key problem I stay deeply dedicated to addressing is guaranteeing nobody is left behind by the well being system, regardless of the place they reside,” says Dr Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, the CEO and President of VillageReach, a world non-profit devoted to strengthening well being techniques in underserved communities.
With over three a long time on the forefront of worldwide and continental well being, Dr. Ogwell is one in all Africa’s most revered public well being leaders, and as Vice President for World Well being Technique on the UN Basis, he spearheads world well being coverage, advocacy, convening, thought management, and grantmaking to assist the UN’s priorities. Earlier than that, he was Deputy Director-Basic of the African Centres for Illness Management and Prevention (Africa CDC) and served in varied management positions, together with appearing CEO and founding Deputy Director. His management at the Africa CDC led Africa’s profitable response to the COVID-19 pandemic and different ailments, together with Ebola, Marburg, and cholera.
The New Public Well being Orderdemanding that Africa take cost of its well being future, is Ogwell’s high precedence. He urged a elementary shift in Africa’s method to well being by pushing self-reliance, indigenous options, and continental possession, and believes the continent ought to set its agenda, construct inside capability, and make sure that each nation is supplied to take care of well being threats successfully. The New Public Well being Order is now a guiding framework for the African Union and its member states, shaping coverage, funding, and worldwide cooperation. It’s seen as a roadmap, not just for pandemic preparedness however for attaining sustainable, equitable well being outcomes throughout the continent.
He says his expertise with Africa CDC was one in all honor and privilege, including, “I’ve labored with passionate professionals, discovered from seasoned leaders, and gained knowledge from African elders. I’ve additionally had the privilege of working with companions (I name them Associates of Africa!) as they’ve supported our work and contributed to our imaginative and prescient of a New Public Well being Order.”
Now, as CEO of VillageReach, he is charging towards his 2030 imaginative and prescient, bringing high quality healthcare to the farthest corners of the globe.
On this dialog with allAfrica’s Melody Chironda, he displays on classes discovered, the way forward for African public well being, and guaranteeing nobody is left behind.
Dr. Ogwell, having led Africa’s public well being efforts at Africa CDC and now advancing well being fairness at VillageReach, what do you see as probably the most essential alternative to strengthen world well being techniques for underserved communities, particularly amid shrinking help budgets?
Amid shrinking help budgets and rising well being wants, probably the most pressing alternative is to rethink how we construct and ship care, beginning with main well being care. Greater than 650 million folks throughout Africa nonetheless lack entry to the well being companies they want. This second requires a distinct sort of management: one which facilities fairness, prioritizes probably the most under-reached, and embraces extra agile, inclusive well being techniques.
Responsive main well being care provides a strong path ahead. These are techniques which are accessible when wanted, can adapt to shocks, and are designed to replicate the realities of the folks they serve. Which means listening extra to communities and nations, and fewer reliance on inflexible, top-down fashions.
At VillageReach, we’re working alongside governments and companions to place this method into motion – from extending care past services to utilizing knowledge and know-how to shut entry gaps. On this new world well being panorama, responsiveness and inclusion aren’t elective; they’re important.
What transformative change should the worldwide well being group embrace to attain equitable well being entry for all, and the way will you champion this variation via VillageReach’s initiatives?
To realize equitable well being entry for all, the worldwide well being group should shift from short-term, top-down approaches to long-term, built-in, country-led supply techniques. Fairness begins when techniques are designed across the wants of probably the most under-reached, guided by native knowledge and constructed to adapt to altering calls for.
At VillageReach, we’re championing this transformation. Our 2030 technique goals to cut back inequities in well being techniques, reaching 350 million folks. At its core is responsive PHC. Particularly, I am targeted on increasing our work in 5 essential areas: digitally-enabled PHC, resilient provide chains, robust knowledge techniques, a well-supported well being workforce, and emergency-ready techniques. All of it’s aligned with nation priorities and carried out in shut partnership with governments, communities, the non-public sector, and world actors dedicated to lasting change.
Many African nations grapple with weak well being infrastructure. What are probably the most pressing systemic modifications wanted to deal with this problem and construct resilient well being techniques, and the way do you see these evolving over the subsequent decade?
Resilient well being techniques aren’t constructed by funding alone. They require a elementary shift in how techniques are designed, led, and delivered. Step one is transferring from donor-driven approaches to techniques constructed round nationwide priorities and group wants. When nations lead, techniques develop into extra accountable, responsive, and sustainable.
We additionally have to rethink what infrastructure means. It is not simply clinics and hospitals, however the techniques that join them: robust provide chains, empowered well being staff, dependable knowledge, and digital instruments that convey care nearer to folks.
Responsive main well being care is on the coronary heart of this transformation, and over the subsequent decade, I see African nations main the way in which towards digitally enabled, regionally owned techniques. At VillageReach, we’re supporting that evolution, aligning with nationwide methods and scaling environment friendly, people-centered fashions that ship lasting influence the place it issues most.
With the U.S. help cuts, resembling to USAID and PEPFAR, disrupting world well being applications, how can African nations and organizations like VillageReach innovate with home financing and different funding fashions to maintain essential well being applications?
Current U.S. help cuts have underscored the pressing want for African nations to cut back dependency on exterior funding and strengthen regionally led, domestically financed well being techniques. This isn’t only a monetary problem; it is a chance to rethink how well being techniques are resourced and sustained.
Governments can diversify financing via approaches like public-private partnerships, medical health insurance schemes and blended financing fashions that convey collectively public, non-public and philanthropic sources. These fashions not solely cut back reliance on a single funding stream but additionally unlock new sources of capital and foster better collaboration throughout sectors.
How can African nations successfully prioritize preparedness for rising infectious ailments whereas addressing ongoing challenges like maternal and little one well being?
Illness surveillance, emergency preparedness and maternal and little one well being usually are not competing priorities—they’re deeply related. The simplest option to tackle each is thru responsive, built-in techniques that may meet routine wants whereas adapting in occasions of disaster. Which means stronger knowledge techniques for early warnings, well being staff outfitted to reply and ship companies, and provide chains that may flex in emergencies. We’re supporting this work and extra, along with our companions, to construct the kind of main well being care techniques that may serve all communities.
Reflecting in your journey and Africa’s public well being challenges, what’s one key problem you hope to beat via your management at VillageReach?
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I’ve labored in public well being for over three a long time, main via emergencies and reform efforts, throughout world establishments and nationwide techniques. One key problem I stay deeply dedicated to addressing is guaranteeing nobody is left behind by the well being system, regardless of the place they reside. I’ve seen what occurs when techniques fail probably the most susceptible, and I’ve additionally seen what’s attainable when governments and companions construct techniques with folks on the heart.
In my new function, I am dedicated to translating my expertise in public well being into motion. My aim is to broaden entry to well being care to the folks and locations most frequently left behind via sustainable, people-first options that reach the attain and responsiveness of well being techniques throughout Africa.
Wanting forward, what systemic modifications are wanted in African well being techniques to strengthen their resilience in opposition to shocks like pandemics or funding disruptions, and what steps will be taken now to attain this?
Constructing actually resilient well being techniques in Africa means rethinking not simply what we ship, however how—and for whom. Resilience is not solely about weathering shocks like pandemics or funding cuts. It is about anticipating them, adapting early, and persevering with to serve those that want care most.
Three shifts are important, which I’ve named earlier. First, we should put money into responsive main well being care techniques which are designed to adapt and ship in any context, not solely throughout crises, however day-after-day. Second, we should localize management by strengthening nationwide establishments and frontline capability, guaranteeing that selections are made nearer to the folks they have an effect on. Third, we’d like extra secure and diversified financing to cut back dependence on exterior help and anchor techniques in sustainable, home funding.
Resilience will not occur in a single day. That’s the reason VillageReach has labored for 25 years towards these targets, and why we are going to hold working so that everybody, in every single place, can entry the well being care they should thrive.
