Dangote canvasses 1% of PAT to fund health sector

…As African leaders support Dangote, Imoukhuede-led ABC health

Motolani Oseni

The President of Aliko Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has canvassed for one per cent of Profit After Tax (PAT) to fund the health sector in Nigeria and other Africa countries. This is even as the heads of government across Africa have expressed support for a new health platform tagged African Business Coalition for Health (ABC Health), a joint initiative of the Aliko Dangote Foundation; GBCHealth, and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), which was launched on Tuesday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In his opening remarks, the Chairman of Aliko Dangote Foundation, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who was represented by the Foundation’s Executive Director, Halima Aliko-Dangote, said Africa Business Health Forum would identify issues and solutions to Africa’s health challenges with a view to mobilising the will to confront it headlong. He said it is a well-known fact that there is a vital relationship between health and economic growth and development in Africa as healthy populations live longer, are more productive, and save more. Access to essential health services is an important aspect of development. Dangote stated that “Governments from both developed and developing countries are increasingly looking at public-private partnerships (PPPs) as a way to expand access to higher-quality health services by leveraging capital, managerial capacity, and know-how from the private sector.” According to him, “Africa’s healthcare systems demand significant investments to meet the needs of their growing populations, changing patterns of diseases and the internationally-agreed development goals. He said as a businessman, and through Aliko Dangote foundation, he is committed to working with governments and key stakeholders for the development of impactful health initiatives in Africa in the belief that private sector leaders have a strong role to play. Back in his home country, Dangote informed his audience that, in keeping with his passion to see healthier African people and a better continent, he has proposed and charged business leaders to commit at least one per cent of their profit after tax to support the health sector. In his own remark, the Co-Chair of the GBCHealth, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, said while Africa has made significant progress in the funding of healthcare, “we are still very far from where we need to be to achieve SDG Goal 3.” He lamented that healthcare in Africa is constrained by scarce public funding and limited donor support, and that the out of pocket expenditure accounts for 36% of Africa’s total healthcare spending, pointing out that given the income levels in Africa, it is no surprise that healthcare spend in Africa is grossly inadequate to meet Africa’s needs leading to a financing gap of N66bn per annum. Mr. Imhokuede said it was clear that African governments alone cannot solve this challenge, which is further exacerbated by the continent’s growing population and Africa’s changing disease portfolio. Therefore there is no alternative but to turn to the private sector to complement government funding. Said he “Our continent accounts for less than 2 per cent of global health even though our very fertile people account for 16% of the global population and carry 26% of the global disease burden. By 2050 Africans will account for more than 50 per cent of global population growth much of that coming from my country Nigeria, a great opportunity and at the same time a ticking time bomb should we fail our health systems quickly. The Executive Secretary of the United Nation Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Vera Songwe expressed regret that Africa with over 50 countries is struggling to combat her healthcare challenges but that organisations such as being launched offer a veritable perspective from the private sector to the solutions to Africa’s health care problems. She said about $17.3billion worth of drugs are imported into the African Continent and that if Africa can manufacture those drugs, then that would be 17.3 billion worth of jobs created. However, to attract the participation of the African private sector, there is a need to create an enabling environment. “To the private sector, our leaders are expecting you to invest in healthcare because you will get higher returns than you can get anywhere else.” The ABC Health platform is an ambitious platform designed to bring together business leaders in Africa to collaborate with heads of government and other stakeholders to tackle basic health challenges in Africa, with assurances from the government to collaborate for healthier Africans.