Proceedings of the first African Health Forum: effective partnerships and intersectoral collaborations are critical for attainment of Universal Health Coverage in Africa

Background Universal Health Coverage (UHC)is central to the health Sustainable Development Goals(SDG). Working towards UHC is a powerful mechanism for achieving the right to health and promoting human development which is a priority area of focus for the World Health Organization WHO. As a result, the WHO Regional Office for Africa convened the first-ever Africa Health Forum, co- hosted by the government of Rwanda in Kigali in June 2017 with the theme “Putting People First: The Road to Universal Health Coverage in Africa”. The Forum aimed to strengthen and forge new partnerships, align priorities and galvanize commitment to advance the health agenda in Africa in order to attain UHC and the SDGs. This paper reports the proceedings and conclusions of the forum. Methods The forum was attended by over 800 participants. It employed moderated panel and public discussions, and side events with political leaders, policy makers and technicians from ministries of health and finance, United Nations agencies, the private sector, the academia, philanthropic foundations, youth, women and non-governmental organizations drawn from within and outside the Region. Conclusions The commitment to achieve UHC was a collective expression of the belief that all people should have access to the health services they need without risk of financial hardship. The attainment of UHC will require a significant paradigm shift, including development of new partnerships especially public-private partnerships in selected areas with limited government resources, intersectoral collaboration to engage in interventions that affect health but are outside the purview of the ministries in charge of health and identification of public health issues where knowledge gaps exist as research priorities. The deliberations of the Forum culminated into a “Call-to-Action” – Putting People First: The Road to Universal Health Coverage in Africa, which pledged a renewed determination for Member States, in partnership with the private Sector, WHO, other UN Agencies and partners to support the attainment of the SDGs and UHC. There was agreement that immediate action was required to implement the call-to-action, and that the African Regional Office of WHO should develop a plan to rapidly operationalize the outcomes of the meeting. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12919-018-0104-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

I thank the Government of Rwanda for the kind hospitality and excellent arrangements made for this landmark event.
I am delighted you have joined us as strategic partners at this Forum. We all know that health is central to development and that partnerships are key to improving access to health and wellbeing. The Sustainable Development Goals reinforce the fact that a multisectoral approach is the foundation to Universal Health Coverage.
The Africa Health Forum brings together people from a wide spectrum of sectors to discuss challenges and opportunities for effective health service delivery and policy priorities in the Region. Furthermore, in line with our reform agenda, we are engaging in strategic partnerships with stakeholders particularly the youth, to strengthen their role in the future of health service delivery in Africa. We are putting people first to ensure that no one is left behind.
WHO in the African Region is committed to working with its Member States and partners to attain the highest possible level of health for Africa's people by achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and in particular Universal Health Coverage for all.
Sustainable health financing has long been recognised as an essential part of Universal Health Coverage and an important plank in achieving the aims of the Sustainable Development Goals. In recent years the concept has led to numerous health reforms including health financing, health insurance and results-based financing reforms. These have been influential in redefining how finances for health are mobilised, managed and used to purchase essential health services across Africa. The session will witness the launch of a joint effort between WHO and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the signing of a "Letter of Intent". ICT is already transforming how health care is delivered and how health systems are run. For ICT to achieve the health goals such as SDGs, and to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all for the African region, the proposed partnership will consolidate existing efforts and resources towards making available ICT foundations and platforms that are a requirement for providing and scaling up eHealth services. It will also focus on building a capable workforce to effectively use ICT. The partnership will address also the need of multi-stakeholders partnership models that can bring about sustainable adoption of Digital Health.

Side event -E-Health
The African region has a high burden of diseases, with no interventions for many that disproportionally affect its population. This challenge will hinder achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Universal Health Care (UHC) if left unmitigated. The health research systems in the region could address this challenge if given the needed prominence. This session is aimed at advocating for a new era of health research and innovation to develop diagnostic, preventive and therapeutic interventions that will contribute to progress towards the SDGs and UHC.
The African continent is the only region in the world where the number of adolescents is predicted to increase over the next 50 years. The proportion of the world's adolescent and youth living in Africa is expected to rise from 18 % in 2012 to 28 % by 2040, while the shares for all other region will decline. Within this context, the health and development of Africa's adolescents will be key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Countries in the African region have made commendable strides in health, however the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals require greater efforts to ensure healthy lives and wellbeing for all. It is critical to improve the scope and mode of delivery of health services and also to address the existing inequities in order to have a meaningful impact on people's lives. The health sector interventions will need to be complemented by inter-sectorial action to effectively address the social, economic and environmental determinants of health. At the end it is important to identify ways countries can optimise the multiplicity of stakeholders and the different resources to build a resilient health system that will sustainably address the health and wellbeing of the people without leaving anyone behind.