From health expenditure to investment: Togo and ECA advance sustainable health financing

Lomé, Togo, 11 September 2026 (ECA) – The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Government of Togo have taken forward discussions on sustainable health financing, as ECA begins translating its continental Sustainable Health Financing Initiative into country-level action. The engagement follows the launch of the initiative in Tangier, Morocco, in April 2026 and is anchored in a central proposition: health should be considered not only as a social expenditure, but as an investment in people, human capital, productivity and economic resilience. Togo provides an important starting point for this work. The country has already made progress towards universal health coverage and is progressively extending health protection across different segments of its population. The next challenge is ensuring that this progress can be sustained while responding to the different economic realities of Togolese households. During the mission, ECA engaged with institutions responsible for health, finance and economic policy to examine the opportunities and challenges associated with financing universal health coverage sustainably. Discussions with the Ministry of Health highlight...