Principal Secretary for Medical Services Dr. Ouma Oluga has called for a fundamental shift in development financing, urging African countries to adopt more inclusive and coordinated approaches.
Speaking on Tuesday at the Kenya Partners Convening (KPC) 2026 in Nairobi, he emphasised stronger collaboration among governments and partners to address declining donor support and ensure sustainable, locally driven development across key sectors like health, education, and agriculture.
Dr. Oluga said the continent must move beyond fragmented development models and align governance, policymaking, and delivery systems to achieve measurable impact.
“Africa must move beyond fragmented models and align governance, policy-making, and delivery systems to translate existing knowledge and capacity into measurable impact,” he said.
The event, organised by the Gates Foundation and held at the JW Marriott Hotel Nairobi, brought together government officials, development partners, philanthropies, and private sector actors to discuss the future of development finance.
Dr. Oluga emphasised that development efforts should not be the responsibility of a single entity but must be shared across multiple actors.
“Development must be shared across actors,” he said, noting that both policy formulation and implementation should be treated as collective responsibilities involving governments, partners, and other stakeholders.
He highlighted that while Africa possesses the technical expertise required to address systemic challenges, progress has often been hindered by weak coordination.
“While Africa has the technical expertise to address systemic challenges, stronger coordination is required to convert this potential into results,” he added.
Dr. Oluga pointed to the government-led Health Policy Platform as a key mechanism for aligning priorities, mobilising resources, and strengthening collaboration across sectors.
The discussions at the convening focused heavily on the challenges posed by declining donor support and increasing fiscal pressures facing many African countries.
Participants explored practical responses to reduced Official Development Assistance (ODA), including strengthening domestic resource mobilisation, improving efficiency in public spending, and enhancing service delivery.
Key sectors identified for reform included health, education, agriculture, and county systems, all of which are under growing strain due to limited funding and rising demand.
PS Oluga reaffirmed the importance of balancing immediate interventions with long-term structural reforms.
He noted that sustainable systems must address both prevention and response to systemic challenges, warning that short-term fixes alone would not be sufficient to ensure lasting progress.
The convening forms part of broader efforts by Kenya and other African nations to rethink development financing models.
Increasingly, governments are shifting focus towards sustainability, inclusivity, and resilience as they adapt to changing global economic conditions.
The forum also reflected a multi-stakeholder approach to shaping the next phase of development financing, bringing together voices from across sectors.
Among those in attendance were Githinji Gitahi, Chief Executive Officer of AMREF Health Africa, David Khaoya, Senior Research Fellow in Health Economics at the University of Nairobi and Karen Basiye, Director of Sustainable Business and Social Impact at the Safaricom Foundation.
Their participation highlighted the importance of partnerships between governments, academia, civil society, and the private sector in addressing development challenges.
As countries across Africa navigate an increasingly complex financial landscape, Oluga’s message reaffirmed the urgency of adopting new approaches that prioritise coordination, shared responsibility, and long-term sustainability.
His remarks signal a growing recognition that the future of development financing on the continent will depend not only on the availability of resources, but also on how effectively those resources are aligned, managed, and deployed.
