“Stronger health systems don’t just save lives, they drive economic growth, stability, and investment. Endemic diseases like malaria remain a major drag on productivity, particularly in Africa, straining economies and deterring investors.”
Martin Edlund
“By leveraging our diplomatic platforms overseas, we are asking: how do we create market opportunities in a way that helps shift the burden, so that countries can develop more sustainable approaches to their own health responses?”
Jeffrey Graham
“We need a healthy African workforce in order to build strong, growing African economies, and that, in turn, is essential for the global economy.”
Florizelle Liser
Key Takeaways
Economic Impact: Every dollar invested in malaria control returns $5.80 in GDP growth; malaria imposes a $12 billion annual economic burden on African economies; countries with robust malaria control attract 16% more foreign direct investment; and 72% of companies report operational impacts from malaria, with 39% describing it as severe.
Infrastructure Opportunity: Existing malaria programs test 273 million fevers annually, operating “the world’s best fever finding and fighting network” in rural Africa; the approach is shifting toward integrated, disease-agnostic health worker systems; and the technology pipeline is “bursting with transformative new technologies,” many developed by American companies.
Demographic Imperative: By 2050, one in four people globally will be African and 60% of the world’s youth will live in Africa; a healthy African workforce is essential for both African and global economic growth; and 80% of affected companies are small and medium enterprises.
Policy Integration: Health discussions must include finance ministers, since “health conversations just with ministers of health will only go so far”; malaria investment should be treated “as an economic tool rather than just a health tool”; and future agreements should give African governments greater control over their own health systems.
Action Items
For Policymakers: Integrate health into economic planning by treating malaria investment as essential infrastructure like roads and ports; expand cross-ministerial engagement by including finance, trade, and other ministers in health discussions; leverage economic data such as the 16% FDI increase in policy discussions; and develop compact models that create time-bound mutual commitment agreements.
For Private Sector: Factor health security into investment decisions by applying COVID-19 lessons on the importance of health systems; explore manufacturing opportunities through local production on the African continent; develop integrated delivery systems for multi-disease logistics; and invest in data infrastructure to strengthen surveillance and early warning systems.
For Development Partners: Build disease-agnostic platforms addressing multiple diseases simultaneously; strengthen commercial diplomacy by using diplomatic platforms for sustainable market solutions; support technology transfer for innovative health technologies; and focus on SME impact by designing programs that address their vulnerabilities.
For African Governments: Prioritize health in national budgets, moving beyond reliance on donor aid; create enabling investment environments by promoting health security as a competitive advantage; leverage regional integration through frameworks like AfCFTA for regional health resilience; and engage key stakeholders beyond health ministries in strategic planning.
Immediate Steps: Download and distribute the report to support funding requests and policy proposals; engage in compact negotiations using economic health arguments in ongoing US-Africa discussions; track the Accra Reset Initiative to follow African-led partnership reforms; and begin planning for Africa’s demographic transition over the next 25 years.
