UNGA 2025: African Leaders Demand Ownership of Innovation, Push for Self-Reliant Future
At the 2025 United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), African leaders and innovators made a strong case for greater ownership of development and innovation, stressing that the continent must shape its future with or without foreign aid. The message was delivered at a side event convened by eHealth Africa in partnership with Population Services International (PSI), the Population Council, and Reach Digital Health, under the theme: “African-led Innovation: Shaping Sustainable Futures With or Without Aid.” Sierra Leone’s Minister of Information and Civic Education, Chernor Bah, said decades of donor-driven development created systems without true African ownership. “Africans have always innovated. This is a new era—an era of designing our own future, where African ideas and creativity lead the way,” Bah declared. Dr. Ola Brown, founder of HealthCap Africa, stressed that healthcare innovation in Africa benefits the world: “When we invest in […]