The second International Primary Health Care Conference continues this Thursday at the Arusha International Conference Centre, where health officials, experts, researchers, development partners, and practitioners from Tanzania, the rest of Africa, and beyond have gathered since Wednesday for three days of discussions, ahead of a closing session scheduled for Friday.
The gathering carries an ambitious theme: strengthening sustainable health financing, efficiency, and quality within primary health care, all with a clear goal in mind, universal health coverage. Organizers have set 2030 as the target date, giving these three days of debate a distinctly action-oriented character rather than one of mere theoretical reflection.
The discussions span a wide range of issues, reflecting just how complex the challenges facing the continent’s health systems have become. Financing naturally sits at the center of the conversation, but the exchanges also touch on the quality of services delivered to populations, the availability and training of health workers, and the governance of health systems. Digital health and nutrition are on the agenda too, alongside two topics that have become impossible to ignore in recent years: antimicrobial resistance and health emergency preparedness.
That last point carries particular weight on a continent regularly confronted with epidemics, whether localized outbreaks or crises that cross borders. The question is no longer simply how to treat, but how to anticipate, how to build systems resilient enough to absorb a health shock without collapsing.
The conference fits into a broader pattern seen across the continent this week. In Senegal, the « One Health » project, officially launched on Tuesday in Dakar, reflects the same logic of resilience, this time by focusing on the links between human, animal, and environmental health to better anticipate and prevent epidemics. Backed by Senegal’s health ministry and supported by the Pandemic Fund, a multilateral mechanism dedicated to strengthening pandemic prevention and response capacities, the project prioritizes low- and middle-income countries.
Between Arusha and Dakar, a common thread seems to emerge. Africa’s health systems can no longer be thought of purely at the national level, nor limited to handling immediate emergencies. Sustainable financing, solid governance, and risk anticipation are the pillars on which the continent’s ability to deliver truly accessible primary health care to all its populations will rest between now and 2030.