Empowering health sovereignty in Africa through innovations for self-reliant healthcare

Abstract

Health sovereignty, the ability of African nations to govern and sustain their health systems independently, has become increasingly urgent. This narrative review examines recent innovations driving self-reliant healthcare across Africa, including novel financing mechanisms, local pharmaceutical production, digital health technologies, community-based task shifting, and policy reforms. Between January 2013 and May 2025, we systematically searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect, including grey literature from the World Health Organization (WHO), African Union, Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), GAVI, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), West African Health Organization (WAHO), and East African Community (EAC). We applied an iterative thematic synthesis to organize the evidence into core thematic domains. Key findings highlight transformative community-based insurance schemes and digital micro-levies that strengthen domestic health financing, significant expansion in local vaccine and generic medicine production, widespread adoption of mobile health platforms and artificial intelligence-enabled diagnostics, and strategic deployment of community health workers to address workforce shortages. Supported by regional policy harmonization and public-private partnerships, these innovations provide a pathway toward resilient, self-sustaining health systems. This synthesis emphasizes the importance of integrated context-specific strategies for achieving sustainable health sovereignty across African nations.