In April 2001, African Union (AU) member states signed a declaration to allocate at least 15% of their national budgets to the health sector. It is commonly referred to as the Abuja declaration since the signing took place in Abuja, Nigeria, with a primary goal of strengthening healthcare systems to improve the overall health outcomes in Africa. We tracked when countries have achieved the 15% target between 2001 – 2021 using data from the WHO Global Health Expenditure Database.
Only six countries have ever met the target since the declaration. Namibia, South Africa and Madagascar, have met this target multiple times, while most countries have struggled to spend even 10% on health.
| Country | year | GGHED_GGE | GGHED (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cabo Verde | 2021 | 15.8 | 9,277 |
| Chad | 2004 | 15.0 | 50,622 |
| Madagascar | 2010 | 15.2 | 389,695 |
| Madagascar | 2015 | 15.3 | 661,039 |
| Madagascar | 2016 | 17.5 | 892,743 |
| Madagascar | 2017 | 15.0 | 922,244 |
| Namibia | 2001 | 16.0 | 1,511 |
| Namibia | 2002 | 17.2 | 1,831 |
| Namibia | 2003 | 16.8 | 1,968 |
| Namibia | 2004 | 17.4 | 2,125 |
| Namibia | 2005 | 16.3 | 2,100 |
| Namibia | 2006 | 15.8 | 2,250 |
| Namibia | 2007 | 18.0 | 2,888 |
| South Africa | 2014 | 14.9 | 180,798 |
| South Africa | 2015 | 15.2 | 203,194 |
| South Africa | 2016 | 15.3 | 217,653 |
| South Africa | 2017 | 15.3 | 231,847 |
| South Africa | 2018 | 15.3 | 247,256 |
| South Africa | 2019 | 15.3 | 270,014 |
| South Africa | 2020 | 15.3 | 294,336 |
| South Africa | 2021 | 15.3 | 309,356 |
| Zimbabwe | 2010 | 15.2 | 332 |
GGHED (USD): Domestic General Government Health Expenditure
GGHE_GGE: Domestic General Government Health Expenditure as % General Government Expenditure