Southern Africa Health Report Shows No Country Spends Enough On Healthcare

The Southern African Development Community released its 2025 health scorecard in Johannesburg on 24 February 2026, covering 16 member countries.

No Sadc country meets the Abuja Declaration target of 15% of its national budget on health as donor funding declines.

The Southern African Development Community (Sadc) released its 2025 health scorecard in Johannesburg on 24 February 2026. The report measures sexual and reproductive health and rights across 16 countries, tracking 20 indicators with a traffic light system.

Twelve countries recorded a drop in adolescent births. The report links this to life skills, HIV and sexuality education in primary schools. Six countries reduced maternal deaths. Twelve countries are on track to eliminate mother-to-child HIV transmission by 2030, and five already achieved that milestone in 2025.

For families, this means fewer funerals, fewer medical emergencies and fewer children left without care. It also means less money spent on transport to clinics and long hospital stays.

But warning signs are clear. In seven countries, progress in reducing new HIV infections among girls and young women aged 15 to 24 is slowing. Sexually transmitted infections are rising in half the region. Condom use is declining in most countries.

Eight countries are not meeting women's contraceptive needs. Sexual and intimate partner violence remains high across all member states, despite laws and policies.

No country meets the Abuja Declaration target of spending 15% of its national budget on health. Only four allocate more than 10%. With donor funding declining, governments must carry more of the cost to protect families from high out-of-pocket health expenses.

Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi said with only five years left until 2030, countries must move with urgency and accelerate what works.

Sadc executive secretary Elias Mpedi Magosi said political commitments must translate into domestic funding, law reform and proper implementation.

The joint United Nations programme 2gether 4 SRHR, funded by Sweden, continues to support the strategy and its monitoring.

Read the original article on Scrolla.