Activists push for health sovereignty ahead of Ruto-Macron summit

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Civil society and community organisations are demanding a seat at the table as African and French leaders gather in Nairobi for the Africa Forward Summit on May 11 and 12.

The call comes as Nairobi closes out a dense stretch of global health diplomacy, having hosted two major forums in as many months, the Health Integration Summit 2026 in Mombasa and last week's World Health Summit (WHS) Regional Meeting 2026 in Nairobi.

A coalition of civil society organisations, including ACTION Africa, Global Health Advocacy France (GHA France), GFAN Africa and Impact Santé Afrique, released a joint statement on Wednesday setting out three demands for French and African government representatives at the summit.

The groups called for strengthened health systems that leave no one behind, a guaranteed equitable health architecture and optimised financing for global health security.

"Health sovereignty cannot be built in isolation," the statement read, adding, “It requires a strategic convergence between domestic resource mobilisation and redesigned international solidarity."

The statement will be delivered directly to French and African government delegations ahead of the summit, which is co-hosted by President William Ruto and French President Emmanuel Macron.

The advocacy push lands in the wake of back-to-back health forums that have increasingly framed Africa's health future around self-reliance rather than donor dependency.

The Health Integration Summit, held in Mombasa from March 15 to 19, brought together government officials, county health executives, development partners and civil society to chart a course for integrating HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) services into Kenya's broader health system.

Principal Secretary for Medical Services Ouma Oluga noted at the summit that funding cuts have forced the health sector to rethink how services are delivered, adding that integration is no longer optional.

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, who opened the Mombasa meeting, underscored the role of Primary Health Care (PHC) networks as the backbone of integrated service delivery, with HIV prevention and treatment offered alongside care for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and mental health.

During the summit, 20 documents under the Integrated Guidelines for the Prevention, Treatment and Management of HIV, Syphilis and Hepatitis B were launched.

The WHS Regional Meeting, held April 27 to 29, produced outcomes with direct implications for Kenya's health architecture.

A major highlight was the launch of the African Health Leadership and Management Committee (AHLMC) by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), reinforcing a shift toward African-led health governance and reduced reliance on external financing.

Kenya also secured an agreement with Africa CDC to host the Eastern Africa Regional Coordinating Centre in Nairobi, which will serve 14 countries and strengthen regional health security, coordination, and emergency response.

The overriding message from the WHS Regional Meeting was that US cuts to international aid should push the continent to take charge of its own health services.

Lukoye Atwoli, the summit's co-host, told reporters that the aid system in Africa was based on the idea of "poor medicine for poor people," adding: "That era is gone."

Against this backdrop, the coalition is pushing for the Africa Forward Summit to go further.

The groups ran a webinar titled "People's Voices on African Health Sovereignty" to present the statement and rally organisational signatories, with a deadline of Wednesday, May 6, for sign-ons.

The Africa Forward Summit will cover eight themes including health system strengthening, food sovereignty, digital competitiveness, energy access and connectivity.

 A dedicated health roundtable will aim to promote a cooperation model based on partnership and co-construction, strengthen local production chains for vaccines and medicines and develop the continent's human and technical capacity in health.

The summit marks the first time such a high-level France-Africa forum has been held in an English-speaking African nation.