29 July 2025 - Virtual Briefing: New Report on the Future of Health Financing in Africa
The African region faces multiple threats to public health: a rapidly growing toll of noncommunicable diseases alongside a persistent infectious disease burden; shrinking international aid; and tightening domestic finances, all in the context of urbanization and growing youth and older adult populations.
Governments are under increasing pressure to respond by securing sustainable health financing and strengthening health systems.
Health taxes—targeted excise taxes on harmful products—represent a cost-effective yet underutilized tool available to policymakers to reduce consumption of unhealthy products that cause preventable morbidity and premature mortality and impose enormous economic costs.
On July 29, join us for a virtual briefing to explore insights from a new publication by Vital Strategies, Economics for Health, and REEP at the University of Cape Town — The Future of Health Financing in Africa: The Role of Health Taxes — with additional commentary from ONE.
The virtual event will include discussion of the report’s findings as well as commentary and analysis of the wider context. Panelists, including REEP's Director, Prof Corné van Walbeek, will share insights into the current landscape of health taxes in Africa, highlight country case studies, and offer evidence-based policy design recommendations, and the session will conclude with a public Q&A.
Tuesday, July 29 2025 | 12:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. CAT