“Health is often taken for granted until sickness arrives.” The COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to an unprecedented standstill in March 2020. Schools shut their doors, international travel was halted, curfews were imposed, and countless businesses, including hotels and restaurants, closed. Employees faced layoffs, hospitals brimmed to capacity, and everyone, regardless of location, turned to the health sector for answers. Our healthcare workforce faced immense pressure, and solutions like protective equipment and vaccines were scarce. This invisible enemy spared none, leading to a significant shift in global priorities and spending patterns.
It is projected that the global deficit in health workers will escalate from 12 million to 18 million by 2030. Additionally, the WHO’s data indicates significant absenteeism due to illness or injury among employees in various regions. For instance, in 2021, the average absenteeism in the European Union and Nordic countries stood at 12.6 and 12.8 days, respectively.
Africa, the second most populous continent globally, accounts for over 16% of the world’s population. Boasting the world’s most rapidly expanding population, it’s characterized by a youthful demographic with a median age of approximately 20 years. However, with an average unemployment rate hovering at 9.66%, the challenge for governments and policymakers is twofold: to capitalize on the potential of this burgeoning youth and ensure they have ample livelihood opportunities.
The soaring global demand for health workers presents an invaluable opportunity. By investing in Africa’s vast youth population, we can create meaningful employment, bridge the workforce gap, and fuel economic development.
The World Health Organization (WHO) describes the health workforce as “all people engaged in actions whose primary intent is to enhance positive health outcomes.” However, for the purposes of this article, we are expanding this definition to include everyone whose actions, irrespective of their primary intent, result in improved health outcomes.
The challenges facing Africa’s healthcare are stark. With 24% of the global disease burden, the continent only houses 3% of the world’s health workforce. The current health worker ratio in Africa stands at a worrying 11.2 workers for every 10,000 people. This is significantly below the WHO’s recommended ratio of 44.5. Additionally, the global health worker shortage is projected to reach 6 million by 2030.
Tapping into the continent’s youthful potential offers a viable solution to these workforce challenges. Meaningful youth engagement can bolster workforce strength and elevate health outcomes for future generations. However, realizing this potential demands committed actions from African governments: notably, increased health sector funding and empowering the youth with leadership roles.
Despite being home to such a significant portion of the world’s population, African governments allocate only between $8 – $129 per capita towards health. In glaring contrast, more developed countries earmark over $4,000 per capita. The disparity in health spending in Africa can be attributed to various factors, including the continent’s relatively low GDP, limited innovations in health financing, and challenges in interpreting and implementing public financial guidelines. Nevertheless, an increase in Africa’s health spending, aligned with the global average, would not only infuse billions into its GDP but is projected to catalyze the creation of an estimated 15 million jobs by 2030.
The aftermath of COVID-19 has ushered in a renewed global resolve to strengthen health sectors universally. On the continent, a rejuvenated Africa CDC is pivoting its focus towards honing health systems for pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. Additionally, on a global scale, platforms like the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) are spotlighting health, with an upcoming high-level meeting in September 2023 dedicated to Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Such concerted commitments signal the prioritization of health by diverse stakeholders, carving out a golden opportunity for investors to seize the moment and invest in a sector ripe for growth and innovation.
The Digital Vanguard: Africa’s Gen Zers
At a median age of 20, Africa’s burgeoning generation—primarily those born between 1995 and 2010—is a testament to the power of digital nativehood. Immersed in the online realm from their earliest years, they have thrived amidst the internet, social networks, and mobile ecosystems. Their experiences have cultivated four pivotal behaviours rooted in the pursuit of authenticity. More than just digital savants, they epitomize the spirit of global citizenship: fluid identities that shun restrictive labels, technologically augmented worldviews, and a fervent belief in dialogue as a potent tool for change. This is a generation that rallies for myriad causes, finding strength in the words of Thomas Carlyle: “He who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything.” Tapping into the potential of this digitally adept, globally-minded youth to address Africa’s healthcare challenges isn’t merely an opportunity—it’s a high-yield investment with the promise of long-term growth for the continent.
From Aid to Investment: Africa’s Rising Opportunity
Africa offers investors a tantalizing proposition: the promise of high returns in a largely untapped market. With a burgeoning population exceeding 1.4 billion, the continent boasts two critical assets for business success: a vast, yet underutilized workforce and an eager, unsaturated market. This positions Africa as the world’s remaining commercial frontier. By investing in healthcare, not only do investors contribute to a healthier, more productive workforce, but they also facilitate job creation within the health sector, boosting overall purchasing power. This dual impact can transform consumers into avid purchasers of diverse products and services. Furthermore, evidence suggests that every dollar spent on training health workers can yield returns as high as tenfold. With African governments increasingly emphasizing ease of doing business and encouraging private-sector involvement, the call to amplify health investments has never been more urgent or promising.
Africa: The Evolving Technology Epicentre.
Major tech players like Google and Microsoft are increasingly recognizing Africa’s potential, establishing footholds to tap into its vibrant innovation ecosystem. This surge in technological investment has empowered Africa’s youth, especially those in burgeoning innovation hubs, to collaborate and connect with global counterparts. Initiatives like the UNLEASH innovation lab further strengthen these international collaborative efforts. Unique to Africa is the absence of entrenched legacy systems, providing a fresh landscape for groundbreaking innovations. While there have been notable successes in the fintech domain with several African unicorns, the health sector remains a largely untapped goldmine. By supporting startups in this realm, there exists a ripe opportunity to cultivate billion-dollar enterprises tailored to meet the continent’s health needs.
Strengthening Global Health Security through Investment
Investments in the health sector, especially in training and job creation for health workers, not only benefit individual nations but fortify global health security. As we grapple with the realities of burgeoning populations, shifting disease patterns, climate change ramifications, and changing economic landscapes, the potential arises for the generation of roughly 40 million health sector jobs by 2030 — predominantly in middle- and high-income nations. The world has already witnessed the far-reaching implications of public health threats like COVID-19, Ebola, Anti-microbial resistance (AMR), and Monkey Pox. Such challenges will persistently test the resilience of human health, global economies, and health security. Now, more than ever, there’s a pressing imperative to channel resources into a sector that resonates as a societal linchpin.
Innovations from Africa, for Africa:
Necessity, often deemed the mother of invention, finds validation in the innovative solutions birthed in Africa to tackle pervasive health challenges. A few standout case studies underscore this:
- Digital Revolution in Health Education: Since 2005, Amref Health Africa has collaborated with ministries of health, development partners, and other stakeholders to harness digital technology (e- and m-learning) in addressing barriers to health worker education. Originally piloted in Kenya and subsequently expanding to nations including Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia, this approach has now permeated pre and in-service education for health workers. Initiatives like Jibu and Leap have evolved from grant-based projects to scalable, sustainable social enterprise tools.
- Yemaachi: Tailoring cancer care through a deeper understanding of human genetic diversity, Yemaachi stands as Africa’s pioneering cancer research company.
- Life Bank: Conceived by Nigerian Temie Giwa-Tubosun, this logistical innovation bridges the gap between registered blood banks and patients in dire need at hospitals.
Challenges & Opportunities in the Health Journey:
The client’s journey in the health sector can be segmented into three pivotal phases, each marked by its unique challenges and opportunities:
- Decision to Seek Services: This phase offers the chance to amplify health education, confront cultural barriers, and nurture healthier behaviours, including improved hygiene and nutrition.
- Accessing Services: Here, solutions can address issues such as community-level health workforce density, service affordability, and accessibility.
- Availability of Health Services: This stage beckons for investments in apt health workforces, premium services, and a robust supply chain for requisite equipment and commodities.
Investing in the Future:
The looming threat to global health security needs collective and urgent action. Now is the moment to channel investments into mobilizing and harnessing the power of Africa’s burgeoning youth. By creating demand-driven employment opportunities in the health sector, we will be stimulating investments in traditional and digital training platforms, startup growth and an expanded enterprise in diagnostics, care and logistics among other solutions. These efforts will help cultivate a highly skilled and productive workforce poised to meet the global health sector needs. This not only bolsters economies but enhances lives, underscoring Africa’s unique advantage in the global health landscape.