Africa Urged to Integrate Health Security Reforms into Broad Health Systems Strengthening

Strategic Insights -

Researchers at the World Health Organization (WHO) are advocating for African countries to prioritize health security reforms as part of broader health systems strengthening efforts. The proposed approach aims to improve key dimensions such as service delivery, governance, financing, surveillance, and workforce development, ultimately promoting health security and accelerating universal health coverage (UHC). According to the researchers, integrating investment in health security and UHC is a "double-win" and a pathway to achieve resilience, leading to equitable access to essential health services and improved population health.

Key Takeaways:

  • The WHO is urging African countries to accelerate integrating health security reforms into broader health systems strengthening, citing the need to improve resilience in the face of public health emergencies such as pandemics and epidemics.
  • The proposed approach involves a comprehensive gap assessment and analysis, followed by holistic planning and comprehensive reforms to improve service delivery, governance, financing, surveillance, and workforce development.
  • The integration of health security reforms into health systems strengthening is expected to promote health security, accelerate the achievement of UHC, and ultimately improve population health.
  • The researchers propose a logical, system-wide approach that positions health security reforms as part of overall health systems strengthening, advancing the primary health care approach and promoting health security.
  • The study concludes that integrating investment in health security and UHC is a "double-win" and a pathway to achieve resilience, leading to equitable access to essential health services and improved population health.

Statistics:

  • The COVID-19 pandemic and the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola Virus Disease epidemic revealed major inadequacies in containing major public health emergencies effectively and promptly, with a severe toll on communities, societies, and economies.
  • The study proposes a comprehensive gap assessment and analysis, followed by holistic planning and comprehensive reforms to improve key dimensions such as service delivery, governance, financing, surveillance, and workforce development.
  • The researchers emphasize the need to integrate investment in health security and UHC, which is expected to lead to a "double-win" and a pathway to achieve resilience, improving population health and accelerating UHC.

Sources:

  • Frontiers in Tropical Diseases. (2025). Strengthening health systems for health emergency preparedness and response in Africa: integrating building system resilience to achieve universal health coverage and promote health security is a "double win."
  • World Health Organization. (2025, 6). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.3389/fitd.2025.1685122
  • World Health Organization. (2025). NewsRx. Study Data from World Health Organization Provide New Insights into Emergency Preparedness (Strengthening health systems for health emergency preparedness and response in Africa: integrating building system resilience to achieve universal ...). Bioterrorism Week. November 3, 2025; p 590.