Stakeholders Demand Sustained Financing to Tackle Hypertension, NCDs

By Ojoma Akor

Stakeholders have called for increased and sustained financing to tackle hypertension and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) across Africa.

They warned that inadequate funding continues to undermine access to essential primary healthcare services.

The stakeholders, who comprise legislators, government health agencies, civil society organizations and patient advocates, made the call during a technical session at the Africa Primary Health Care Conference (APHCF) 2026 titled “From Burden to Budget: Financing Hypertension and Other Non-Communicable Diseases Through Primary Health Care in Africa.”

The Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) hosted the session in collaboration with the Legislative Initiative for Sustainable Development (LISDEL) and the Gammun Center for Care and Development.

Speaking at the session, Amos Magaji, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Healthcare Services, said the National Assembly was engaging with proposed legislation to strengthen health financing, including bills to expand the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) and reform Nigeria’s sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax.

Magaji said consultations were ongoing with stakeholders in the health insurance sector to determine an equitable funding-sharing formula among the various BHCPF gateways.

He urged stakeholders to sustain advocacy for the proposed reforms, stressing that continued pressure was necessary to ensure that health financing legislation progresses through the National Assembly.

“You don’t get what you deserve; you get what you pursue,” Magaji told participants, emphasizing the need for sustained advocacy to translate policy commitments into actual funding for healthcare.

Damilola Ademuyiwa of LISDEL called for a shift away from disease-specific financing towards a broader approach that strengthens health systems and primary healthcare.

He identified expanding the BHCPF and using ring-fenced revenue from the SSB tax as key ways to mobilize additional healthcare resources.

Patient advocates, meanwhile, highlighted the practical consequences of inadequate financing on people living with hypertension.

Mallam Hussaini Lamadi of the National Association of People Living with Hypertension identified low public awareness, inadequate screening infrastructure, medicine shortages and the high cost of drugs in private pharmacies as major barriers to hypertension care.

Tulari Tine, Executive Director of the Gammun Center for Care and Development, shared the organization’s experience in strengthening community accountability and advocacy for hypertension services in Kano.

He highlighted the center’s Hypertension Ambassadors initiative, which seeks to strengthen community engagement and equip advocates with the knowledge and skills needed to demand better prevention, screening, and treatment services.

The discussions underscored the growing need to make hypertension and other NCDs a stronger priority within Africa’s primary healthcare financing agenda.

Unlike infectious diseases, NCDs such as hypertension require sustained access to screening, diagnosis, medicines, and long-term follow-up. Stakeholders therefore argued that financing commitments must be predictable and sustained rather than dependent on short-term or disease-specific interventions.

The session ended with a series of commitments to translate advocacy into concrete policy and financing action.

Civil society organizations pledged to participate in public hearings on health financing bills and provide lawmakers with evidence and data to support legislative decisions.

Stakeholders also encouraged health experts and public figures to use primary healthcare centers directly, arguing that greater engagement with frontline facilities could help expose service gaps and drive improvements.

Participants further committed to sustained engagement with the National Assembly to accelerate the passage of key health financing legislation.

The stakeholders said stronger political commitment, community accountability and sustainable domestic financing would be essential if African countries are to improve prevention and treatment of hypertension and other NCDs and reduce their growing burden on individuals, families and health systems.