Africa’s healthcare ecosystem is at an inflection level. Over the previous decade, healthtech has risen from a nascent idea to a lifeline for tens of millions, powering telemedicine in villages, digitising provide chains for lifesaving medication, and enabling data-driven public well being methods. However at the moment, the abrupt suspension of USAID-funded applications such because the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Reduction (PEPFAR) applications threatens to destabilise this fragile progress. What’s at stake, and the way can we pivot?
The silent spine: USAID’s function in Africa’s well being ecosystem
USAID wasn’t only a funder; it was a catalyst. Its investments exceeded {dollars}—they constructed bridges between governments, NGOs, and innovators like Remedial Well being Options. Think about Nigeria’s Nationwide Malaria Elimination Program: USAID’s technical and logistical assist considerably helped slash malaria mortality charges in a decade. Maisha Meds, a number one healthtech startup in Africa, acquired $5.25 million in scale-up Stage 3 funding from USAID’s Growth Innovation Ventures (DIV) to develop their cell software program platform and supply reasonably priced malaria care throughout Africa.
In Kenya, Rwanda, and Mozambique, USAID-backed platforms like OpenMRS revolutionised HIV/AIDS monitoring. USAID-funded applications diminished affected person “loss to follow-up” in PEPFAR applications, which was as excessive as 22.4% in Ethiopia.
USAID’s exit isn’t only a funds line merchandise; it’s a seismic shock to programs that relied on its experience to optimise last-mile supply, prepare frontline staff, and scale digital instruments.
For healthtech startups, this might imply fewer alternatives to collaborate with public well being applications to combine their options into nationwide healthcare methods. It additionally means a lack of credibility and belief, as USAID’s endorsement usually served as a stamp of approval for revolutionary options searching for to realize traction available in the market.
Within the wake of USAID’s exit, the sector should reimagine its playbook, and listed below are my 4 imperatives for the sector’s survival:
1. Governments should lead with coverage, not platitudes: African leaders should cease treating healthcare as a charity trigger. It’s an financial crucial. Nigeria allocates simply 5.18% of its nationwide funds to well being, lower than half the Abuja Declaration’s 15% pledge. We want aggressive home funding in digital infrastructure (e.g., Kenya’s digital well being tax levies). These insurance policies streamline rules for well being tech approvals, enabling quicker innovation and decreasing reliance on international support. By constructing resilient, locally-led programs, they enhance healthcare entry, empower startups, and guarantee long-term sustainability throughout Africa.
2. Leveraging native and regional partnerships: The personal sector, together with well being tech startups, should discover partnerships with native and regional organisations to maintain and scale their options. For instance, Ghana’s mPharma is buying distressed pharmacies to stabilise drug entry. Localised motion beats grand gestures.
3. Diversify capital: VCs and affect traders should step into USAID’s sneakers. Instruments like improvement affect bonds or revenue-based financing (e.g., PharmAccess’s Medical Credit score Fund) can de-risk investments in digital well being data (EHRs) or telemedicine. Crowdfunding platforms like AfriGadget are already proving this mannequin works.
4. Advocate relentlessly, silence is complicity: The African Union should strain international establishments to recommit—however with African-led frameworks. Why ought to the EU or the Gates Basis replicate USAID’s playbook? Let’s demand co-creation, not session theater.
Sure, USAID’s withdrawal is a blow. However it’s additionally a reckoning. For too lengthy, we’ve outsourced our healthcare sovereignty. This second calls for audacity: Kenyan startups like Afya Rekod and Zuri Well being are repurposing AI for drug demand forecasting, and South Africa’s Ndlovu Clinic runs fully on solar-powered EHRs.
As a builder on this area, I’m doubling down on two truths: Resilience is Africa’s aggressive benefit. We’ve leapfrogged legacy programs earlier than—cell cash is proof. Neighborhood belief is our moat. Tech is nothing with out the nurses, pharmacists, and sufferers who wield it.
The highway forward is uncharted, however the vacation spot is nonnegotiable: a healthcare system that serves Africans, by Africans. Let’s construct it.
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Damilola Adelekan is a Product Supervisor with 5+ years of expertise in wellness, SaaS, and dot-coms. As Lead Product Supervisor at Remedial Well being Options, she combines strategic considering and user-centricity to ship impactful options. Keen about mentorship, she’s helped 50+ people transition into tech, driving development in Africa’s tech ecosystem by way of collaboration and steady studying.