African health leaders warned this week that the continent risks losing years of progress against deadly diseases.
At a summit in Accra, officials said falling foreign aid and low local health spending are putting that progress at risk. They pointed to HIV, malaria and tuberculosis as diseases where gains could be reversed.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told leaders they need to invest more in their own health systems. He said the WHO will keep helping with advice and support. But he said real change depends on African governments themselves.
The summit is happening as Congo battles a serious Ebola outbreak. The outbreak was only discovered in May, weeks after it had started spreading.
There is no vaccine or treatment for this strain of Ebola. It is spreading quickly in eastern Congo, an area already hit by conflict.
Winnie Byanyima, who leads UNAIDS, said disease and inequality make each other worse. Poorer, unequal countries are hit harder by outbreaks. Those outbreaks then make inequality even worse. She called this a cycle that needs to be broken.
The summit runs for two days. Leaders are focused on three things: stronger leadership on health, better cooperation between countries, and building Africa’s own medicine and vaccine production.