Online Reporter
Sifelani Tsiko
Fact Check Editor
Africa, on May 25, celebrates the 63rd anniversary of the founding of the continental body — the African Union — at a time when Africa is facing a new and deadly Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda, as well as the hantavirus — health emergencies that require huge healthcare funding budgets.
African governments have for decades relied heavily on global donors such as the United States and other European countries for support. Now, the situation has changed radically with the US slashing its aid to the continent by more than 50 percent in the past few years. Europe and other donors from developed nations have also cut their funding support to Africa.
The sweeping cuts by Trump’s administration have added woes to Africa’s health emergency response at a time when the continent’s population has risen to over 1,5 billion people. At present there are no vaccines for the treatment of the new Ebola strain and hantavirus.
The era of begging bowls is ending and Africa increasingly needs to finance its development programmes to ensure the sustainability of projects and, more importantly, for its own survival.
Donor funding from traditional sources is declining and Africa has to shift from foreign to domestic health funding mobilisation. There is no choice. Experts say it has to develop innovative funding strategies to raise about US$160 billion to meet its annual health funding needs. The continent has to, by all means necessary, prioritise strategies to move away from foreign aid dependency through African-led solutions and continental economic integration.
There are some positive sparks. The continent’s thrust to unleash its economic potential through the implementation of strong industrial policies is helping to provide Africa with the tools for value addition and commodity-based industrialisation.
With bold leadership and state support, consistent monitoring and evaluation, inclusivity and prioritisation of major sectors, Africa is marching ahead on the tough and winding road to structural transformation.
It is heartening that Africa’s real GDP growth rate for 2025 averaged between 3.9 percent and 4.2 percent across various multilateral institutions, outperforming the global average. This resilience, economists say, was driven by ongoing structural reforms, easing inflation, expanding digital economies, and strengthening regional trade integration.
Despite global conflict threats, Africa still remains a major global destination for investment.
Investment in Africa is rising and analysts say in 2025 the continent attracted US$3,8 billion in disclosed funding across 63 major deals. They say capital is increasingly flowing into high-growth, climate-focused, and tech-driven sectors, as the continent positions itself as a major hub for emerging markets and digital innovation.
Africa Day provides an opportunity to celebrate African solidarity, African identity and a common humanity and destiny which is shared by the continent’s more than 1,5 billion people.
After nearly six decades of the existence of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU, now AU), it is time for reflection for this continent that is so strategically important to world economics.
Africa Day celebrations are being held under the theme “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve Agenda 2063.” Celebrations will feature official gatherings, vibrant cultural festivals, and diaspora celebrations across the globe.
In the terms of Africa Day, The Herald unearths some of the major highlights of events and processes driving change on this continent, home to more than one billion people.
A is for Africa
The origin of Africa’s name is an area of major contestation by etymologists. One school of thought suggests that “Afri” was the name of a people, maybe the Berbers of North Africa, given by the Romans while others say the addition of the Latin word aprica, meaning “sunny”, or the Greek word aphrike, meaning “without cold” would ultimately lead to the use of the term Africa.
Some historians or Egyptologists say the name Africa is of African origins from the Egyptian word “Afru-ika” or ‘Motherland’.
Other scholars suggest that the name Africa came into Western use through the Romans, who used the name Africa terra — “land of the Afri” referring to the northern part of the continent, as the province of Africa with its capital Carthage, in modern-day Tunisia. The Roman suffix “-ca” denotes “country or land”. There are so many theories around the origins of the name and most historians say the actual etymology of Africa is uncertain. No one knows the exact origins, but it has come to be acceptable on the continent and globally.
“But all these explanations do not say how African people called themselves. So we look for the origin of the word from the names given by [foreigners],” said Prof Rokhaya Fall, of Cheikh Anta Diop University, who specialises in the history of African societies, in an online report. “Are there any sources within Africa confirming that those who lived on the continent gave that name to their own continent? This is a field for research.”
F is Founding fathers
Founding Fathers who gathered together on May 25 1963 in Addis Ababa to establish the OAU (now AU) had to come up with a united, independent and strong Africa.
They dedicated their lives and worked tirelessly to liberate Africa from the shackles of colonialism.
The OAU was established, first and foremost, with the express objective of working towards the greater unity of the African continent while at the same time ensuring that the remaining colonies on the African continent are assisted to achieve their freedom and independence.
The memory of the founding fathers should not go to waste.
The legacy of the likes of Dr Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Modibo Keita of Mali, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Sekou Touré of Guinea, Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Ben Bella of Algeria, Emperor Haile Selasse of Ethiopia, William Tubman of Liberia, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa of Nigeria, Nnamdi Azikiwe of Nigeria, Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya and many others who were part of the major driving forces for a common and shared vision for Africa must live on and never be downplayed.
Their vision inspired the pan-African movement and also influenced the transformation of the continental body in the years that followed.
These founding fathers must continue to be part of our collective memory as the continent continues to celebrate their work and soldier on in achieving their dreams.
R is for Resources
Africa has a large quantity of natural resources including oil, diamonds, gold, platinum, iron, cobalt, uranium, copper, bauxite, silver, petroleum and a whole range of plant genetic resources. Much of its natural resources are undiscovered and have not been harnessed. Africa is the prime target of most industrial nations that want to exploit its resources. Economic analysts say Africa is one of the most resource-rich continents globally, holding approximately 30 percent of the world’s mineral reserves, 40 percent of global gold, and up to 90 percent of chromium and platinum. Its vast wealth spans critical minerals, fossil fuels, agriculture, and an immense renewable energy potential, all critical to the global economic architecture.
I is for Inter-Africa trade
African countries are losing out on billions of dollars in potential trade earnings every year because of high trade barriers with neighbouring countries. Critics still charge that it is easier for Africa to trade with the rest of the world than with itself. Africa has great potential to increase intra-continental trade and create more economic opportunities. Latest figures show that Intra-African trade—the exchange of goods and services between African countries—currently accounts for roughly 15% to 21 percent of the continent’s total global trade. While relatively low compared to other regions, it is rapidly expanding under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
C is for Common vision
Greater regional coordination and a common vision are required for the development of a vibrant Africa in all its key production and processing sectors. The adoption by African leaders in 2015 of Agenda 2063 as the continent’s new long-term vision for the next 50 years was a milestone in the history of the continent. Africa’s shared common vision is encapsulated in the African Union’s Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want. It is a strategic framework for the socioeconomic transformation of the continent over 50 years, driving toward an integrated, prosperous, and peaceful Africa driven by its citizens.
A is for Aid
More aid is not the answer. Development aid is no substitute for sound economic policy choices. What Africa needs is trade and support to strengthen its industrialisation drive. After a decade of aid fatigue and dwindling development assistance, African countries are realising that domestic mobilisation of resources and financing their own development programmes is vital for sustainable development. It is now a reality that foreign aid to Africa is shrinking and undergoing major structural changes marked by massive cuts in traditional Western development and health funding. As global donors focus more on other geopolitical conflicts and defence, Africa must increasingly focus on local leadership, sovereign health systems, and self-reliance to cover for the huge shortfalls in foreign funding. Shrinking Official Development Assistance (ODA), left the continent navigating a US$1.3 trillion Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) financing gap, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Africa’s debt has risen to about US$1.2 trillion, according to the African Export-Import Bank and economic experts say debt servicing consumes roughly 19 percent of government revenue in sub-Saharan African countries.
D is for Digital economy
Economic experts all agree that Africa’s digital economy is one of the continent’s fastest-growing sectors, with its internet economy projected to contribute billions to the regional GDP and support over a billion mobile connections. Driven by a massive expansion in mobile money and tech startup ecosystems, the sector is heavily bridging developmental gaps. In 2024, mobile technologies and services generated 7.7 percent of Africa’s GDP, amounting to US$220 billion in economic value, according to a GSMA report. The World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) estimate that the overall digital economy will contribute up to US$180 billion to the continent’s GDP, with the potential to scale upwards toward US$712 billion by 2050.
A is for AIDS and health-related matters
After more than 30 years of battling HIV and Aids, Africa has registered some success in slowing the rate of HIV/AIDS infections to appreciable levels. The progress in tackling the pandemic on the continent has been evident, particularly in prevention, treatment and care. According to UNAIDS, Africa remains the region most heavily impacted by HIV/AIDS, carrying the vast majority of the global HIV burden. While significant progress has been made in expanding antiretroviral treatment (ART) and reducing AIDS-related deaths, adolescent girls and young women remain highly vulnerable to new infections.
The UN agency further says that abrupt cuts to international funding and aid have caused major disruptions to frontline testing and treatment, forcing local governments to rapidly scale up domestic funding to sustain treatment gains. In 2025, UNAIDS/WHO estimated that approximately 40,8 million people were living with HIV at the end of 2024 and 1,4 million children living with HIV (0–14 years old). Africa CDC says the continent now faces “an unprecedented financing crisis,” with official development assistance having shrunk from about US$26 billion in 2021 to around $13 billion in 2025. This comes at a time when rich nations have shifted their focus to geopolitical issues such as the US-Israeli war on Iran and domestic pressures. The latest outbreak of the deadly Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda and the hantavirus has sparked a global health emergency. This will certainly add new pressure on African governments battling reduced healthcare funding levels. Most African governments are now looking inward to mobilise health funding, targeting higher taxes on tobacco, alcohol and sugary foods, pooled procurement of medicines to lower costs, expanding local pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturing, among others. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are surging across Africa and experts say they are the continent’s next major health crisis. Commonly referred to as “diseases of affluence,” conditions like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancers now drive immense premature mortality, impacting populations during their prime productive years and overwhelming already-strained local healthcare systems on the continent.
Y is for Youth in Africa
African governments need to pay more attention to Africa’s youth, which needs more empowerment programmes and more job creation initiatives to help transform the continent and defuse a ticking “time bomb”. With 532 million young people aged 15 to 35, Africa has the youngest population in the world. Africa’s youth boom serves as a powerful engine for the future, with the World Bank noting that nearly 500 million young Africans will enter the workforce by 2035. If equipped with quality education, healthcare, and economic opportunity, this massive working-age cohort is projected to significantly drive global labour productivity.
The story of Africa’s worrisome youth unemployment is shown by the dark side of drug abuse, crime, violence, sex and deaths by many attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe in search of jobs. To defuse the youth unemployment time bomb, African governments need to mobilise resources, including from the private sector, for youth development. Countries need to implement youth empowerment action plans to address both unemployment and under-employment. The African youth are crying for the creation of safe, decent and competitive employment opportunities for themselves.
