By Mohamed Kamara
Health analysts across the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have raised concerns over persistent challenges in the region’s health sector, despite ongoing high-level meetings among member states’ health and legal authorities.
In less than a month, Sierra Leone has hosted both ECOWAS legal and health bodies. However, analysts argue that while meetings often produce strong theoretical commitments, implementation of agreed policies remains weak across member states.
They further noted that many health systems continue to struggle with funding gaps, forcing reliance on donor support, which often arrives after critical delays, leaving vulnerable populations exposed to preventable health risks.
According to observers, long-standing structural problems—including poor sanitation, overcrowded communities, and limited access to qualified medical personnel—continue to fuel frequent outbreaks of infections in many areas.
A retired Senegalese neurologist, Madam Swarary Fall, noted that in ECOWAS countries, more than 20 percent of annual bilateral and multilateral borrowing is directed toward the health sector. She explained that such funds are often used to construct clinics and health centres in provincial towns and rural communities, as well as to train staff and provide medical logistics.
However, she observed that only a few member states have fully embraced effective decentralisation of healthcare services. She further stated that many medical training institutions across the region remain under-resourced, lacking essential equipment and properly equipped laboratories.
Madam Fall also highlighted the absence of universal healthcare systems for the poor in most ECOWAS countries, contrasting the situation with developed nations. She added that private hospitals have increasingly become the preferred option for those who can afford them, deepening inequality in access to healthcare.
She further warned about the growing circulation of counterfeit and substandard medicines, noting that fake drugs remain a major cause of health complications in the region.
According to her, corruption and informal payments in public hospitals also continue to undermine healthcare delivery, as patients are often required to make unofficial payments before receiving adequate attention.
Madam Fall stressed that the core responsibility of ECOWAS health ministers should go beyond constructing hospitals and clinics, emphasizing instead the need for increased investment in human health as a fundamental pillar of development.
She also raised environmental health concerns, pointing out that emissions from unmanaged waste dumps produce harmful gases that affect the respiratory system, while most city councils in West Africa remain ill-equipped to manage solid waste effectively.
She added that although many communities rely on local and informal medical practitioners, patients are often referred to government hospitals only in severe cases, reflecting gaps in trust and capacity within public health systems.
On traditional medicine, Madam Fall noted that ECOWAS health ministers did not significantly address herbal medicine during their discussions, except in Ghana, where herbal medicine has been formally recognised and integrated into approved health facilities.
She concluded by warning that many residents across West Africa continue to be exposed to unregulated and unverified chemical treatments, which often result in secondary infections and long-term health complications.
