Keypoints:
- AU hosts key finance-health meeting
- Focus on bridging Africa’s funding gap
- Ministers to unveil new integration policies
THE African Union (AU) will gather ministers and senior policymakers in Johannesburg from September 29 to October 3, 2025, for the 8th Session of its Specialised Technical Committee (STC) on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration.
Under the theme Bridging Africa’s Health Financing Gap in a Changing Geo-Economic Context: Challenges and Potential Solutions, the meeting aims to strengthen Africa’s economic and health resilience while advancing continental integration in line with the AU’s Agenda 2063.
Ministers and experts to meet
Delegates will include ministers of finance, monetary affairs, economic planning and integration, as well as health ministers, central bank governors, senior policymakers, technical experts and development partners. The five-day event will mix high-level dialogues with detailed technical discussions, culminating in key policy recommendations to boost health financing and economic cooperation across Africa.
Key programme highlights
A major announcement will be the launch of the Task Force for the Development of a Payment Services Directive for Africa (PSDA), a crucial step towards harmonised financial systems and secure cross-border payments under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Other agenda items include:
- A session on innovative health financing, drawing lessons from East, Central and Southern Africa.
- A dialogue on advancing health taxation to mobilise resources and improve public health outcomes.
- The release of the 2025 African Integration Report, which assesses progress on trade, finance, infrastructure and free movement.
Delegates will also explore inclusive domestic resource mobilisation and tax justice, with a focus on youth and women, as well as a panel on the UN Tax Convention and its potential benefits for Africa in curbing illicit financial flows.
Strategic outcomes expected
The Johannesburg gathering is expected to issue a ministerial declaration outlining consensus on closing Africa’s health financing gap. Key outcomes will include endorsed policy options and a continental Framework for Health Financing Acceleration, anchored on sustainability, equity and resilience.
Stronger coordination between AU departments, Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and national focal points is also anticipated, alongside tailored technical assistance roadmaps from partners such as the African Development Bank (AfDB) and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
Building resilience amid global challenges
With growing health demands, limited fiscal space and global economic uncertainties, the STC meeting provides a strategic platform to align health and finance policies, catalyse domestic financing commitments and articulate Africa’s common position ahead of key global forums including COP30 and the South Africa G20 Presidency.
By integrating health and economic planning, the AU aims to foster resilient, equitable and universal health systems while accelerating trade and economic integration across the continent.
