GSP Forum 345 Health governance in Sub-Saharan Africa

The advent of global health governance means health administration that transcends national boundaries. In view of the interdependence of states and increasing movement of people, the spread of contagious diseases and the heightened complexity of global health issues make cooperation among countries to be indispensable. Unfortunately resourcing remains a critical challenge to effective health governance. The uncontrolla-ble spread of Ebola in West Africa in 2014 is a good case example of the impact of lim-ited financial and human resources in combating highly contagious diseases that are a potential global threat to human life. It is important to note from the onset that health governance borders on human rights, essentially the right to life. It is for this reason that health needs to remain a top priority for all nations, rich and poor. The disparity in terms of the quality of healthcare and health service provision in developed and developing countries is apparent. ‘Good governance in health systems promotes effective delivery of health services’ (Lewis and Petterson, 2009: 2). Sub-Saharan Africa’s performance on health outcomes remains poor despite Sub-Saharan African nations ’ financial commitment, albeit limited