A research think tank, Community-Led Responsive and Effective Urban Health Systems, says Africa and Asia must urgently build resilient health systems amid a projected population surge.

The CHORUS Urban Health Consortium, operating in Bangladesh, Ghana, Nepal, and Nigeria, said the move was necessary to address the challenges posed by rapid urban population growth and a high disease burden across the continents.

The consortium made the call in a statement by its country lead, Obinna Onwujekwe, on Monday in Abuja.

Mr Onwujekwe  said research findings project that urban population growth in Africa and Asia could reach 90 per cent over the next 20 years.

He said the consortium was partnering with the University of Ghana’s School of Public Health and the International Society for Urban Health to host a forum on building resilient health systems across the continents.

He said the forum, the Accra Evidence-to-Policy Event, would bring together researchers, policymakers, city officials and health managers at the University of Ghana’s Legon Campus from Thursday to Friday.

According to him, the delegates at the forum will discuss their various research on urban health and develop suitable strategies for responsive policies and programmes across the continents.

The consortium’s co-director, Helen Elsey, described the forum as timely and crucial, given the systemic challenges in urban primary healthcare, where public, private, and NGO clinics, as well as pharmacies, provide uncoordinated care of varying quality.

“These difficulties contribute to less-than-acceptable health outcomes, especially in maternal and child health, as well as non-communicable diseases like hypertension, diabetes and cancer,” she said.

Ms Elsey pointed out that poor service quality, high costs and the limited availability and accessibility of both public and private formal health providers had contributed to the challenges in urban healthcare.

As a result, she said, informal health providers, such as traditional birth attendants and drug vendors, continue to play a significant role in these urban areas.

Another co-director of the consortium, Bassey Ebenso, emphasised that improving urban health systems was closely linked with addressing key social and economic challenges.

These challenges, he said, included reliable power, road infrastructure, water and sanitation, air quality, transportation, and social factors, as well as cultural norms that could increase health risks.

Mr Ebenso, alongside the consortium’s CEO, Irene Agyepong, advocated that tackling these issues required political leaders in Africa and Asia to acknowledge the existence of urban health challenges.

(NAN)