-
Newsroom 
-
Events
-
Activities
-
Pathways
-
Newsroom
-
Events
-
Activities
-
Pathways
Action Pathway for Health
Strengthening health systems through private sector investment, digital health innovation, healthcare financing, workforce development, manufacturing, and cross-border collaboration to position health as both a social imperative and an economic growth sector.
Through year-round engagement, the Action Pathways aim to generate practical solutions, coalition-building opportunities, and measurable outcomes that can be elevated at major global and regional convenings, including Unstoppable Africa on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
The Plan
The Action Pathways operate through a series of strategic engagements throughout the year. High-level virtual and in-person meetings bringing together leaders from business, government, multilateral institutions, academia, and civil society to identify challenges, align priorities, and advance actionable solutions. Solutions-focused working groups designed to move ideas into implementation through collaborative project development, policy recommendations, financing strategies, and partnership opportunities. Development of reports, playbooks, case studies, and strategic insights that highlight emerging trends, investment opportunities, and scalable models across Africa. Facilitating partnerships between corporations, investors, governments, development partners, and innovators to support transformative initiatives across the continent. Engagements focused on unlocking capital for high-impact initiatives through blended finance, private investment, catalytic partnerships, and innovative financing mechanisms.
Convenings
Launch
GABI Action Pathway on Health: A Strategic Roundtable
Health as Wealth: Building Resilient Healthcare Systems through Innovation, Trade, and Investment
Africa is at a pivotal moment where its surging youth population, rapid digitalization, and expanding markets present an unprecedented opportunity to transform health from a social imperative to an economic engine. The continent remains challenged by persistent underinvestment in health, reliance on imported medical goods and expertise, and fragmented supply and value chains. Yet the momentum behind the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), digital transformation, and growing demand for accessible, quality healthcare could reposition health as a foundation for inclusive economic growth and market-driven development.
Innovation is flourishing in Africa—ranging from grassroots telemedicine solutions to AI-supported diagnostics and mobile-based insurance platforms. These advancements are not only closing gaps in care but also spurring entrepreneurship and new business models for health delivery. However, to move from pilot projects to scalable impact, a united push is required: regulatory reforms, investment in local manufacturing, robust data infrastructure, and partnerships that intentionally bridge the worlds of health, trade, and investment.
When appropriately resourced and harnessed, Africa’s health sector stands to catalyze job creation, boost regional value chains, and foster the kind of resilience that sustains both lives and livelihoods.
This strategic roundtable of the GABI Action Pathway on Health supports reimagining Africa’s health systems as engines of economic resilience.
Key Discussion Tracks
1. Health as a Catalyst for Trade and Industrialization
* Unlocking regional value chains in pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and medtech.
* Harnessing AfCFTA protocols to reduce non-tariff barriers, facilitate the movement of health goods and services and align regulatory frameworks across African markets.
*Spotlighting public-private collaboration to drive quality, safety and competitiveness in health trade.
2. Digital Health Innovation: Accelerating Access and Scale
* Leveraging mobile, AI, and data-driven platforms to expand healthcare access, enhance surveillance, and improve clinical outcomes.
* Investing in robust digital infrastructure and regulatory clarity to foster innovation and interoperability
* Elevating youth-led innovations that drive both social impact and commercial sustainability.
3. Impact Capital: Fueling Africa’s Health Market Transformation
* Scalable models for blended and catalytic finance that crowd in private capital alongside public and philanthropic funds.
* Strategies to move from donor dependence toward locally sustained, investment-worthy health ecosystems.
* The role of global and regional partners in building pipelines of investable health opportunities while fortifying health system resilience.
4. The ‘Human element’: Building Resilience through Africa’s Healthcare workers
* Stemming the “brain-drain” of doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers from Africa.
* Strengthening local health systems through increased investment in infrastructure, training, and fair compensation to encourage healthcare professionals to remain in Africa rather than migrating abroad.
* Developing effective retention policies, including continuous professional development, career advancement pathways, and better working conditions for healthcare workers.
* Implementing ethical recruitment practices and bilateral agreements to minimize the negative impacts of international recruitment on Africa’s health workforce.
Key Takeaways
Economic Potential: Africa should treat healthcare as a major economic sector rather than just a public service. With annual spending of $150 billion, the sector offers significant opportunities for job creation and wealth.
Digital Transformation: Digital systems, such as AI-powered diagnostics and health operating systems, are essential for scaling healthcare delivery and optimizing resource management.
Market Integration: The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) offers a path to a unified health market by harmonizing standards and removing trade barriers for medical products.
Innovative Financing: To reduce reliance on aid, blended finance—supported by organizations like the African Development Bank—is critical for attracting private capital to health infrastructure.
Workforce Development: Africa can leverage its demographic dividend to become a global supplier for the healthcare workforce. Combatting "brain drain" requires leadership development, active involvement of frontline workers in policy, and efforts to retain local talent.
Investment Viability: Implementing universal health insurance is essential for creating viable markets, as it allows individuals to choose providers and transforms fragmented systems into attractive investment opportunities.
Kick-Off Meeting [Sub-section]
GABI Action Pathway on Health
Virtual Kick-off Meeting Takeaways, 5 May 2026
The Global Africa Business Initiative (GABI) convened its first 2026 Action Pathway on Health kickoff meeting to mobilize private sector investment in Africa's $150 billion healthcare market. Participants identified blended financing mechanisms, public-private partnerships, and policy frameworks as priority solution vehicles, with consensus emerging around three focus areas: (1) recognizing health as an economic sector, (2) utilizing blended finance for infrastructure, and (3) leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) for unified health markets. The group committed to developing a problem statement by June 2026 and launching actionable solutions at Unstoppable Africa in New York.
GET INVOLVED
MEMBERSHIP INTEREST
Join the Action Pathways!
We welcome interest from public and private sector leaders and organisations wishing to make practical contributions to the Africa We Want.
Action Pathway Membership
Membership of the GABI Action Pathway is a leadership track for organisations that moves beyond dialogue and into delivery. Membership offers a structured way to co‑design solutions for implementation, influence policy‑relevant outcomes and gain visibility within a powerful public‑private coalition focused on Africa’s economic transformation. In return, members commit both resources and executive engagement. It is a strategic opportunity to lead, as detailed in the following membership tiers:
