The numbers are in, and they are terrifying. External health aid to Africa has plummeted by approximately 70% between 2021 and 2025. In response, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is declaring a state of financial emergency, unveiling a bold plan to tax our way to health sovereignty.

Director General Dr. Jean Kaseya has been blunt: "Africa cannot continue outsourcing its health security." The decline in Official Development Assistance (ODA) is not a temporary dip; it is a structural shift as the West turns inward. To fill the void, the Africa CDC is advocating for aggressive Domestic Resource Mobilization (DRM), centering on local manufacturing and decision-making power.

The Solidarity Levy

The centerpiece of this new strategy is the "Solidarity Levy." The proposal encourages African Union member states to introduce earmarked taxes—such as levies on airline tickets, hospitality, extractive industries, and "sin taxes" on alcohol and tobacco—dedicated exclusively to health. The goal is to raise billions of dollars internally, reducing the continent’s vulnerability to the whims of foreign parliaments.

This is a radical departure from the begging-bowl diplomacy of the past. It envisions an Africa that funds its own pandemic preparedness. However, the proposal faces stiff resistance from the tourism and business sectors, who argue that new taxes will stifle economic recovery.

Manufacturing Independence

Money is only half the battle. The other half is supply. The Africa CDC is pushing hard for the "New Public Health Order," which mandates that by 2040, 60% of vaccines used in Africa must be manufactured in Africa. Currently, that figure is less than 1%. The drop in aid is being used as a catalyst to force governments to buy local, creating a market for African pharma.

• The Efficiency Drive: The strategy also calls for better management of existing funds, citing that corruption and inefficiency swallow a significant chunk of health budgets.
• The Political Will: It remains to be seen if leaders will spend political capital to raise taxes for health systems that often fail to deliver.

The era of the "white savior" industrial complex is collapsing under its own weight. What rises from the ashes will depend entirely on whether African governments are willing to put their money where their mouth is.