By Englibert Kayombo, ARUSHA, October 8, 2026


African parliamentarians have thrown their support behind Tanzania’s President, Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan, in her drive to improve reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health across the continent, calling for increased investment, stronger political commitment and greater accountability in the use of health resources.

The legislators, representing the African Geopolitical Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), made the call during a high-level side event held on the sidelines of the 153rd IPU Assembly at the Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC).

They stressed that achieving meaningful improvements in maternal and child health requires more than increased funding, emphasising the need for effective policies, strong health systems, parliamentary oversight and closer collaboration among African governments and development partners.

Leading the African Geopolitical Group of the IPU and Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Chad, Ali Kolotou Tchaïmi, said African countries must act collectively and learn from one another’s experiences to accelerate progress in maternal and child health.

“The time to act to strengthen reproductive, maternal and child health services in Africa is now. Let us work together to strengthen these services by learning from other countries and adopting a common agenda on this issue,” he said.

South African Parliament Speaker Angela Didiza said Tanzania’s experience in advancing the health of women, newborns, children and adolescents offered valuable lessons for other African countries.

She emphasised that political leadership was critical to creating an enabling environment for parliamentary action and translating policy commitments into tangible improvements in healthcare delivery.

Didiza welcomed Tanzania’s leadership in advancing the agenda, noting that the commitment extended beyond Parliament to the highest level of government through President Samia’s leadership in Tanzania and across Africa.


INVESTMENT MUST DELIVER RESULTS

Botswana’s Parliament Speaker, Dithapelo Keorapetse, called for greater scrutiny of health expenditure, warning that increased investment alone would not guarantee better health outcomes.

He said Botswana had committed substantial resources to healthcare and made significant progress towards the Abuja Declaration target of allocating 15 per cent of national budgets to the health sector.

However, he noted that persistent challenges in health outcomes demonstrated the need to look beyond budget allocations and assess how effectively resources were being used.

“Investment alone is not enough. Botswana still faces challenges in health outcomes, which highlights the importance of examining the efficiency of resource utilisation,” Keorapetse said.

His remarks underscored the importance of accountability, effective monitoring and performance measurement to ensure that public spending translates into improved access to quality healthcare, particularly for women, children and adolescents.

The discussion placed parliamentary oversight at the centre of efforts to ensure that resources allocated to health programmes deliver measurable benefits to citizens.


IPU PLEDGES SUPPORT FOR PARLIAMENTARY ACTION

IPU Outgoing President Dr Tulia Ackson said President Samia’s efforts to strengthen reproductive, maternal and child health deserved recognition and consideration by other African countries seeking to accelerate progress in the sector.

She pledged the organisation’s practical support to national parliaments to help translate political commitments into concrete action and measurable results.

“Health professionals and healthcare delivery systems alone are not the solution to improving maternal and child health. Political will and leadership accountability will also contribute to strengthening maternal and child health,” Dr Ackson said.

She stressed that maternal and child health should not be viewed solely as a healthcare issue, but also as a matter of human rights, equality, national development and social wellbeing.

Her remarks highlighted the role of elected representatives in shaping health policies, scrutinising public expenditure and holding governments accountable for commitments made to improve healthcare services.


PARLIAMENTARY OVERSIGHT KEY TO IMPROVING HEALTHCARE

Speaker of Tanzania’s National Assembly, Mussa Azzan Zungu, said maternal and child health remained a major government priority because of its direct link to the country’s development.

He said President Samia had taken a leading role in efforts to reduce maternal deaths, contributing to her appointment by the African Union as its Champion for Advancing Maternal and Child Health.

Zungu said Parliament had a responsibility to oversee resources allocated to reproductive, maternal and child health programmes to ensure that the public benefited from government investment in the sector.

He emphasised that effective parliamentary oversight was essential to strengthening accountability among government institutions and ensuring that allocated resources were used for their intended purposes.

The Speaker’s remarks reinforced calls for African legislatures to play a more active role in monitoring health budgets, reviewing implementation progress and ensuring that policy commitments translate into better services for communities.


AFRICA STILL ACCOUNTS FOR 70 PER CENT OF GLOBAL MATERNAL DEATHS

Earlier, Presidential Adviser on Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health and Head of the Secretariat of the African Union Champion for Maternal and Child Health, Ummy Mwalimu, said maternal deaths had declined significantly but remained a major public health challenge across Africa.

She said maternal deaths fell by 42 per cent between 2000 and 2023, yet the continent still accounted for 70 per cent of maternal deaths worldwide.

The figures, she said, highlighted the urgent need to accelerate interventions aimed at improving access to quality reproductive and maternal healthcare and ensuring that women and children receive essential services in a timely manner.

Mwalimu said President Samia had introduced an ambitious agenda under the Roadmap for Advancing Maternal and Child Health, centred on achieving the Three Zeros targets by 2030.

The targets seek to eliminate home deliveries, preventable maternal and newborn deaths, and children missing vaccination.

She called on African parliamentarians and development partners to support the agenda by strengthening health policies, increasing investment in healthcare services and ensuring effective oversight of resources allocated to maternal and child health programmes.


AFRICA URGED TO ACCELERATE ACTION TOWARDS 2030

The side event brought together African parliamentarians and health sector development partners to discuss practical measures for strengthening reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health across the continent.

Participants emphasised the need for stronger cooperation between governments and legislatures, sustained investment in healthcare systems and effective accountability mechanisms to accelerate progress towards the 2030 targets.

The discussions reaffirmed the importance of translating political commitments into practical interventions that improve healthcare access, prevent avoidable deaths and protect the lives of mothers and children across Africa.

With the continent still accounting for a substantial share of global maternal deaths, participants stressed that achieving the Three Zeros targets would require sustained political leadership, adequate resources and consistent monitoring of results