Africa Must Rise at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), September 2025
Luchuo Engelbert Bain, MD, PhD.
In September, the United Nations General Assembly will once again gather world leaders. Health will appear prominently on the agenda, framed as a global priority. But will this UNGA on health be different—or just another September of lofty speeches and photo opportunities?
This year carries particular significance. On September 25, 2025, Heads of State will adopt a new political declaration on noncommunicable diseases and mental health conditions toward 2030 and beyond at the Fourth High-Level Meeting.
The theme focuses on “Equity and Integration: Transforming Lives and Livelihoods Through Leadership and Action.”
The challenges remain: fragile health systems, inequitable access to medicines, climate-driven health shocks, stalled Sustainable Development Goals, and unfinished pandemic recovery. Yet year after year, we hear the same calls for solidarity while little changes for those whose lives depend on real action.
What global health needs now is not another declaration but:
- Financing tied to accountability: pledges without follow-up mechanisms are political theatre.
- Equity at the center: the Global South cannot remain a guest at tables where its future is decided.
- Urgency beyond pandemics: Universal Health Coverage, maternal health, and workforce crises deserve equal priority.
- Clarity of leadership: fragmentation across UN agencies and the WHO weakens collective impact.
If September produces only statements, the United Nations General Assembly risks becoming a symbolic ritual rather than a transformational platform.
The 2025 UNGA turns 80 under the banner “Better Together.” Yet for Africa, “better” must mean more than declarations. It demands fair financing, equity in global governance, and genuine space for African leadership. Climate, health, and youth futures cannot be solved by rhetoric alone. This is Africa’s moment to push for action rooted in ownership, solidarity, and justice—or risk another cycle of promises without progress.
Intersection of Peace and Health: From Gaza through the Democratic Republic of Congo to Sudan, if there is a time humanity must be ashamed of being bystanders—intentionally or unintentionally—it is now. It is time to let go of ego. No health without peace!
“Eighty years ago, from the ashes of war, the world planted a seed of hope. One Charter, one vision, one promise: that peace is possible when humanity stands together.”
— António Guterres, 26 June 2025
Africa: The Time for Games is Over
The 80th UN General Assembly is not another trip for per diems, selfies, and empty speeches. At a time when international funding is shrinking, the U.S. has withdrawn from the WHO, and global priorities are shifting, Africa cannot afford to show up unprepared.
The stakes are too high. Climate change, collapsing health systems, debt burdens, and inequitable financing demand serious African leadership. If we walk into this UNGA without clear priorities, concrete asks, and evidence-based solutions, we will leave with nothing—while others define the future for us.
This is not business-as-usual. The business is to start, not to play. Africa must come as a bloc, speak with one voice, and push for reforms that matter: climate justice, fair financing, and equitable health governance. Anything less is betrayal.
