Since its founding in 2007, the P4H Network has maintained an active presence in countries throughout Africa. Across the continent, there is a commitment to universal health coverage in the region marked by both resource limitations and overwhelming constraints to accessing essential health care by the vast majority of people.
Focusing on national health systems and country leadership, P4H deployed its first ever country focal person (P4H-CFP) to Tanzania in 2011. About half of the P4H-CFPs in P4H’s history have been in Africa, with one-third in francophone Africa alone. The number of P4H-CFPs deployed or appointed in Africa highlights both the importance of the Africa region to the P4H Network as well as its emphasis on country led leadership.
The P4H Network’s Presence in Africa
The P4H Network collaborations in Africa are some of the oldest collaborations in our history. Beginning with the very first P4H-CFP deployed in the United Republic of Tanzania by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), P4H has continued to engage in collaborations with P4H-CFPs and P4H regional focal persons highly engaged in Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia.
The P4H Network Collaborations at Work in Africa
The P4H Network’s robust presence throughout Africa is demonstrated by the number of collaborations at both the country and regional level. Here are some of the highlights:
- Collaborating on an important technical workshop on universal health insurance in Saly, Senegal, in 2019
- Assisting in the Health Financing Progress Matrix workshop attended by representatives from 18 French-speaking African countries in 2023 so they could learn how to apply this tool to monitor and advance progress towards UHC
- Supporting colleagues from Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar, Niger and Senegal to participate in the P4H Network’s Leadership for UHC (L4UHC) programme
In Africa, the P4H Network is working hand in hand with the health financing and investment team of the African Region of the World Health Organization (WHO). Drawing on WHO country presence and regional organization, and leveraging P4H-CFPs and p4h.world, P4H is boosting its capacity to support country reforms and results in financial protection. This collaboration may lead to collaborations between the P4H Network and other regional offices of WHO.
