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President Xi Jinping Sounded Clarion Call To APEC Members

Published

4 years ago

July 18, 2021

Editor’s note: Yuan Sha is an assistant research fellow at the Department of American Studies, China Institute of International Studies. A former Fulbright scholar at Columbia University, she has a PhD in International Politics from China Foreign Affairs University. Yuan has published several papers on China-U.S. security relations in Chinese academic journals and is a regular contributor for many Chinese media outlets. The article reflects the author’s opinions, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

At the first-ever Informal Economic Leaders’ Retreat of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated China’s commitment to cooperate with APEC members to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and accelerate global economic recovery, which would inject strong confidence to the APEC members to weather through the storm and shape a better future for the Asia-Pacific community.

APEC in a time of challenges and opportunities

Just as President Xi said, the Asia Pacific region is the major engine for world economic growth. The 21 APEC member economies around the Pacific represent approximately 40 percent of the world’s population and 60 percent of the world’s GDP, which highlights the region’s status in the world. The APEC community is also the most dynamic region in the world. It is home to the most-developed and least-developed economies and a place where the West meets the East. Through vibrant trade, investment and people-to-people exchanges, these diverse economies and cultures are interconnected as a community of shared futures.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc on the region. Within the APEC community, over 50 million cases of COVID-19 and over one million deaths have been reported, the aggregate GDP contracted by 1.9 percent in 2020, which is the biggest decline since World War II, with 81 million jobs lost.

To make matters worse, the region is witnessing a glaring gap between haves and have-nots. Some countries are quick in vaccinating the population and restarting the economy, while others are scrambling for vaccines, suffering from recurrent surges of infections and lagging behind in economic recovery. Less developed countries are also afflicted with rising poverty, food shortages, environmental degradation, as well as threats of terrorism. Such a grim picture of a “two-track pandemic” warned by World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is making a stark contrast in the region.

Due to the cross-border nature of the pandemic and the inter-dependency among the economies, it is in the common interests and moral duty of APEC members to devise a common solution to better respond to the public health crisis and facilitating a speedy and balanced economic recovery. It is also an opportunity for APEC to forge solidarity among different players and build a stronger organization to better meet future demands.

As an integral member of the APEC community, China has made exceptional contributions to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. China has served as a timely and trustworthy provider of face masks, vaccines and personal protective equipment to the region and the world at large.

In the meeting, President Xi reiterated his pledge to deepen international COVID-19 vaccine cooperation and make the vaccine a global public good. China has already provided 500 million vaccines to over 100 developing countries. China recently reached an agreement with the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) to provide Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines through COVAX facilities, which will further boost the quick and equitable distributions of vaccines across the region. President Xi declared that China would provide an additional $3 billion worth of international aid to support developing countries in their fight against the COVID-19 and economic recoveries. China’s prompt and concrete actions have made enormous contributions to improve the accessibility and affordability of the global COVID-19 vaccination campaign.

President Xi also committed to promoting world economic recovery, by pledging to “deepen regional economic integration”, “pursue inclusive and sustainable development” and “seize opportunities from scientific and technological innovation.” As the only major economy which achieved growth in 2020, China has acted as the anchor for the world economy. In the first half of 2021, China’s GDP expanded 12.7 percent year on year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, which would provide greater impetus to the regional economic recovery.

In his closing remarks, President Xi quoted the New Zealand idiom “Turn your face to the sun and the shadows will fall behind you” as a way to sound the rallying call to the APEC members to step up collective effort to overcome the current challenges and move toward the Putrajaya Vision 2040 for “strong, balanced, secure, sustainable, and inclusive growth.”

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Financing Health Futures: Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda Turn to Tobacco and Telecom Taxes in Big Push Against Malaria

Published

1 month ago

September 28, 2025

The Gleamer

African leaders, parliamentarians, health experts, and development partners have renewed their commitment to ending malaria by 2030, with a bold call for domestic financing through innovative taxation on tobacco, alcohol, and telecom services to close critical funding gaps.

The discussions took center stage at the Big Push Against Malaria: Harnessing Africa’s Role high-level political engagement in Abuja, where Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda showcased new homegrown financing strategies aimed at reducing dependence on dwindling donor support.

Africa’s Heavy Burden

Malaria remains one of Africa’s deadliest diseases. In 2023, the world recorded 263 million cases and nearly 600,000 deaths, with 94% of cases and 95% of deaths occurring in Africa. Nigeria alone accounted for 26.6% of global cases and 31% of deaths, according to the World Malaria Report 2024. Children under five remain the most vulnerable, making up 76% of deaths.

Despite progress — with Nigeria cutting malaria deaths by more than half since 2000 through insecticide-treated nets, preventive treatments, and the rollout of the new R21 malaria vaccine — leaders warned that global targets are off-track. The World Health Organization’s technical strategy for malaria (2016–2030) has stalled since 2017, with Africa unlikely to meet its 2025 and 2030 milestones without urgent action.

Taxing for Health Futures

The Nigerian Parliament’s Committee on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (ATM) announced plans to fund malaria elimination through “sin taxes” and telecom levies.

According to the House Chair on ATM, Hon. Linda Ogar, a bill is underway to restructure the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) into a multi-disease agency that will address HIV, TB, and malaria.

The new financing mechanism proposes:

Taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and other luxury items

Dedicated levies on telecom airtime and mobile money transactions

A percentage of the nation’s consolidated revenue

“These resources will provide sustainable funding to strengthen health systems and accelerate malaria elimination,” Ogar said, stressing that Africa must stop relying solely on foreign donors. “We cannot continue to take two steps forward and five steps backward. Africa must begin to show the world that we are ready to solve our problems ourselves.”

Similar models are already being piloted in Ghana and Uganda, where levies on mobile money and telecoms are being redirected to finance health interventions. The Abuja meeting urged other African countries to adopt this approach as part of a continental framework for sustainable financing.

Leaders Call for Urgent Action

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, emphasized that while malaria is preventable and treatable, it still kills hundreds of thousands yearly due to funding shortfalls, climate change, insecticide resistance, and humanitarian crises.

“To truly defeat this disease, we must rethink, join forces, and mount a concerted ‘Big Push’. Funding gaps remain a major obstacle, and innovative domestic financing is the way forward,” Salako declared.

From the civil society front, grassroots representatives pledged to act as “foot soldiers”, demanding that communities have a seat at the decision-making table. The World Health Organization, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Aliko Dangote Foundation, and other partners reaffirmed support but stressed the need for stronger political will and local ownership.

Private Sector and Global Support

Representing billionaire philanthropist Aliko Dangote, the Nigeria Malaria Council reiterated that private sector investment must complement government financing. Meanwhile, the Global Fund confirmed it has invested nearly $2 billion in Nigeria’s malaria response and committed an additional $500 million for 2024–2026, including support for local production of malaria drugs.

The Gates Foundation’s Uche Anaowu noted that while progress has slowed, malaria remains beatable:

“Smallpox is the only human disease ever eradicated. The question is — can malaria be next? I believe Africa has both the burden and the opportunity to lead the world in making that happen.”

Financing Health Futures: Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda Turn to Tobacco and Telecom Taxes in Big Push Against Malaria

Abuja, Nigeria – African leaders, parliamentarians, health experts, and development partners have renewed their commitment to ending malaria by 2030, with a bold call for domestic financing through innovative taxation on tobacco, alcohol, and telecom services to close critical funding gaps.

Africa’s Heavy Burden

Taxing for Health Futures

The Nigerian Parliament’s Committee on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (ATM) announced plans to fund malaria elimination through “sin taxes” and telecom levies.

The new financing mechanism proposes:

Taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and other luxury items

Dedicated levies on telecom airtime and mobile money transactions

A percentage of the nation’s consolidated revenue

Leaders Call for Urgent Action

Private Sector and Global Support

The Gates Foundation’s Uche Anaowu noted that while progress has slowed, malaria remains beatable:

“Smallpox is the only human disease ever eradicated. The question is — can malaria be next? I believe Africa has both the burden and the opportunity to lead the world in making that happen.”

The Big Push: From Talk to Action

Speakers acknowledged that Africa has hosted too many malaria meetings without concrete outcomes. This time, however, leaders insisted the Abuja gathering must mark a turning point — from dependency to self-reliance.

With Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda setting the pace on tax-based health financing, the continent now faces the challenge of replicating and scaling up these models.

“Now that Africa is at a critical point, the need for a Big Push against malaria cannot be overemphasized. If we align political will, innovative financing, and community engagement, we can end malaria within our lifetime.”

Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda are pioneering a shift from donor dependence to domestic revenue mobilization via tobacco, alcohol, and telecom taxes — a model hailed as central to financing Africa’s health futures and ending malaria by 2030
Speakers acknowledged that Africa has hosted too many malaria meetings without concrete outcomes. This time, however, leaders insisted the Abuja gathering must mark a turning point — from dependency to self-reliance.

With Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda setting the pace on tax-based health financing, the continent now faces the challenge of replicating and scaling up these models.

“Now that Africa is at a critical point, the need for a Big Push against malaria cannot be overemphasized. If we align political will, innovative financing, and community engagement, we can end malaria within our lifetime.”

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