The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the vulnerabilities in West Africa’s healthcare systems exposing disparities that demand urgent attention.
In response to this, the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) with the support of Open Society Foundations (OSF) Africa, has commissioned a research report that extensively examines the status of public health systems across 10 West African countries.
The study examines the state of preparedness of Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Cape Verde, and The Gambia for future public health emergencies, using the COVID-19 pandemic as a contextual reference to evaluate the performance of their healthcare systems.
The study recommends that these countries allocate adequate resources to healthcare, starting with a commitment of at least 15% of their annual budget to the sector, as pledged under the Abuja Declaration of April 2001.