A research think tank, Community-Led Responsive and Effective Urban Health Systems (CHORUS), has called on Africa and Asia to urgently build resilient health systems in the face of projected population surges.
The CHORUS Urban Health Consortium, which operates in Bangladesh, Ghana, Nepal, and Nigeria, said the move is necessary to tackle challenges posed by rapid urban population growth and high disease burdens across the continents.
The call was made in a statement by Nigeria’s Country Lead, Prof. Obinna Onwujekwe, on Monday in Abuja.
Onwujekwe said research findings project that urban population growth in Africa and Asia could reach 90 per cent over the next 20 years.
He added that the consortium is partnering with the University of Ghana’s School of Public Health and the International Society for Urban Health to host a forum on building resilient health systems across the continents.
The forum, named the Accra Evidence-to-Policy Event, will bring together researchers, policymakers, city officials, and health managers at the University of Ghana’s Legon Campus from Thursday to Friday.
“Delegates at the forum will discuss their research on urban health and develop strategies for responsive policies and programmes across the continents,” Onwujekwe said.
The Consortium Co-Director, Prof. Helen Elsey, described the forum as timely and crucial, given the systemic challenges in urban primary healthcare, where public, private, and NGO clinics, as well as pharmacies, provide uncoordinated care of varying quality.
“These difficulties contribute to poor health outcomes, especially in maternal and child health, as well as non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and cancer,” she said.
Elsey noted that high costs, poor service quality, and limited availability and accessibility of formal health providers have worsened urban healthcare challenges. As a result, informal providers, such as traditional birth attendants and drug vendors, continue to play a significant role in urban areas.
Another Co-Director of the Consortium, Associate Prof. Bassey Ebenso, emphasized that improving urban health systems is closely linked to addressing key social and economic challenges, including reliable power, road infrastructure, water and sanitation, air quality, transportation, and social and cultural norms that increase health risks.
Ebenso, alongside the Consortium’s CEO, Prof. Irene Agyepong, called on political leaders in Africa and Asia to acknowledge urban health challenges and mobilize multi-sector action at both city and national government levels to address them.
