Treat healthcare as an investment, not a budget cost – Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama has called on African governments and investors to fundamentally change the way they approach healthcare financing, arguing that health must be treated as an investable economic sector rather than a social expenditure to be funded only when resources are available.

Addressing the Health Plenary of the Alamein Africa Forum in Alamein, Egypt, on Saturday, October 3, President Mahama said investment in health was central to Africa’s economic transformation, human capital development, job creation and macroeconomic stability.

He said the continent could no longer afford to regard healthcare simply as a cost on national budgets.

“For decades, African Finance Ministers and global investors have made a fundamental error: they have treated health as a line-item cost—a social expenditure to be funded only when there is budget left over,” President Mahama said.

“Health is not a charitable cause; it is an investable, high-growth economic sector.”

He cited evidence of the economic returns from healthcare investment, including findings that targeted basic emergency maternal and newborn care could generate significant economic and social returns for every dollar invested.

He also referenced research by the Lancet Commission indicating that reductions in mortality accounted for nearly a quarter of total income growth in developing economies in the early 2000s.

President Mahama said a stronger health sector would not only improve the wellbeing of citizens but also strengthen national economies.

“Investing in health strengthens our balance sheets rather than depleting resources,” he said, urging governments, private capital, commercial banks, industrial developers and sovereign funds to view health investment as an important component of Africa’s economic future.