The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) on October 7 passed a motion urging the East African Community (EAC) Council of Ministers and Partner States to accelerate efforts toward achieving universal health coverage across the region to ensure that no citizen of the community is left behind in terms of accessing medical care.
The motion was moved by Fatuma Ndangiza, an EALA MP from Rwanda and seconded by MP Kanini Kega from Kenya. It was introduced under relevant provisions of the EAC Treaty and the Assembly’s rules of procedure.
Article 118 of the EAC Treaty commits Partner States to cooperate in health by strengthening healthcare delivery systems, harmonising national health policies and regulations, and collaborating in research, training, and preventive medicine.
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Universal health coverage (UHC) means ensuring that all people have access to the full range of quality health services they need, including promotion, prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care, without financial hardship. The goal aligns with target 3.8 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which seeks to achieve UHC globally by 2030.
Ndangiza told The New Times that the purpose of the motion was to urge the Council of Ministers to fast-track the attainment of universal health coverage within the EAC.
In particular, it seeks to ensure that every citizen, irrespective of their status, have access to quality, affordable and efficient health care services without exposing the user to financial hardships, she pointed out.
Access to medical insurance schemes, such as community based health insurance, private health insurance and social health insurance are critical components of universal health coverage, Ndangiza said, adding that universal health coverage is a basic fundamental right and a regional and global priority.
She held that health is wealth and improving the health of EAC citizens is a tangible approach towards poverty reduction and building a prosperous community.
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While investment in EAC health systems is key to inclusive and sustainable growth, EAC, like other regions of Africa, faces a critical challenge of creating the foundations for long term inclusive growth, she said.
“The motion is a call to action to partner states Abuja commitment of 2001 to allocate at least 15 percent of their national budgets to Universal Health Coverage to improve health sector,” she stated.
Underscoring the need to ensure access to affordable healthcare for all, she said that, globally, about 100 million people are pushed into poverty every year due to overwhelming out-of-pocket expenditures on health care.
In addition, about 30 per cent of households in Africa have to borrow money or sell assets to pay for health care. Many countries still have high levels of child and maternal mortality.
Malnutrition is still a real problem in sub Saharan Africa and research reveals that no African country is expected to reach the UN target of ending childhood malnutrition by 2030, she pointed out.
In addition, most health systems are not able to deal effectively with epidemics and the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cancer.
With only five years left to reach 2030, most countries in the region are unlikely to attain goal 3 under target 3.8 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals to achieve universal health coverage, Ndangiza said.
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Progress made
In the motion, Ndangiza commended the ongoing regional initiatives towards achieving universal health coverage, including the EAC Vision 2050, which prioritises collaboration, harmonisation of health policies, and strengthening health systems.
Others are the EAC Open Health Initiative, aimed at harmonising Partner States’ health systems to promote equitable access to healthcare, and the establishment of the EAC Health Research Commission, which coordinates regional research efforts and supports the provision of safe, affordable, and effective healthcare services.
The motional also recognised significant progress in Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda — particularly Rwanda, which boasts the highest enrolment in health insurance coverage in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Concerns raised
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Despite these positive steps, the motion raised concern that the overall regional UHC attainment remains low, and all the Partner States have not yet met the 2001 Abuja Declaration commitment of allocating at least 15 per cent of national budgets to the health sector – to boost health systems and advance universal health coverage.
Key challenges highlighted include insufficient funding and resource allocation, inadequate healthcare infrastructure, especially in rural areas, shortage of trained health professionals across the region, fragmented health systems and inconsistent regulations, high disease burden, both communicable and non-communicable, and regulatory barriers impeding regional integration of health services.
Resolution of the Assembly
By adopting the motion, the Assembly resolved to urge the Council and Partner States to fast-track the attainment of universal health coverage to improve the efficiency and accessibility of healthcare services; increase national health budget allocations to meet the minimum 15 per cent commitment under the Abuja Declaration; and to harmonise national health policies and regulations, and promote regional cooperation on health matters to ensure equitable, high-quality healthcare across the EAC.
