Investing in health to transform Africa’s future

Breast cancer care illustrates this clearly. Investing in women’s health creates benefits that extend beyond patients to society at large. As the leading cause of cancer death among women in Africa1, late diagnosis continues to drive avoidable loss of life, productivity and economic stability. Today, with timely diagnosis and treatment, more than 90% of women diagnosed with breast cancer survive in high-income countries, yet in Africa five-year survival remains at around 50%.2 “When a woman dies from cancer, children lose a beloved caregiver, families lose income and communities lose stability,” said Dorothy Nyong’o, Managing Trustee of the Africa Cancer Foundation and First Lady of Kisumu County, Kenya.

The scale of this impact is now being quantified in socioeconomic terms. Research by the WifOR Institute3 shows that HER2-positive breast cancer – a subtype accounting for up to 20% of cases on the continent –led to more than USD 10 billion in lost productivity across seven African countries (Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa and Tunisia) between 2017 and 2023. Nearly 90% of these losses occurred among women in their prime working years.  “Cancer is not only a health burden. It is a competitiveness tax,” said Oluranti Doherty, Director of Export Development at Afreximbank.

Advances in early diagnosis and therapeutic innovation have transformed the course of breast cancer, a disease once widely regarded as a death sentence. Today, improved treatments are driving significant gains in survival outcomes4, underscoring the importance of investing in breast cancer care and prioritising it within health systems.

For Maturin Tchoumi, Area Head at Roche Africa, this underscores the strategic importance of coordinated action. “At Roche Africa, we have made breast cancer a strategic priority through the Africa Breast Cancer Ambition (ABCA), because it can have a catalytic effect, improving both health outcomes and economic growth across the continent. We achieve that effect by working with partners across the system who bring complementary capabilities to what we do”. 

Evidence linking health investment to economic development is well established. Dr Caroline S. Mbindyo, Chief Innovation Officer at Amref Health Africa, noted that investments in community health can generate substantial returns. Studies suggest that every dollar invested can yield up to ten dollars in economic gains by reducing maternal and child mortality, containing infections and improving early diagnosis.

This approach is already reflected in a range of initiatives supported by Roche. For example, in Côte d’Ivoire, a partnership between the Ministry of Health (MSHP), the COLCC (Coalition of Organisations Fighting Against Cancer), and Roche is expanding access to care, strengthening local capacity and modernising health infrastructure.

From a new single agreement covering multiple cancer therapies to investments in diagnostics, workforce training and screening capacity, tangible progress is being made. The partnership initially focused on Côte d’Ivoire’s National Cancer Centre (CNRAO) in Abidjan, where a 25 per cent reduction in breast cancer mortality was achieved. Scholarships for oncology residency programmes have doubled the number of oncologists in the country to 20, and an additional 15,000 women will be screened for breast cancer each year.

Similar efforts are also reflected across other initiatives, including the EMPOWER Clinics, the Unjani Clinic Network and the Women’s Integrated Care for Cancer Services (WICS), as well as memoranda of understanding (MOUs) and public–private partnerships with governments and organisations aimed at expanding access to care and strengthening health systems.

Healthy women, thriving societies

When a woman survives cancer, families stay together, children stay in school and communities maintain their economic activity. Improving outcomes in breast cancer is therefore not only a clinical priority but also a socio-economic one. That is why, at Roche, we are rewriting the story of breast cancer in Africa.

“Our goal is clear: to achieve a 60% increase in breast cancer survival by strengthening every step of the patient journey, from early detection and diagnosis to treatment and long-term follow-up care,” said Jacqueline Wambua, General Manager for East Africa at Roche, Kenya. 

Further analysis by the WifOR Institute indicates that investing in breast cancer care can reduce societal costs and improve outcomes. Every USD 1 invested in innovative cancer care can generate up to USD 12.40 in economic return, primarily through restored productivity and longer, healthier working lives.

“When we're talking about spending on health, the question isn't really how much we spend, but how intelligently we invest it. And healthcare systems grow the most if we spend towards strengthening the actual system and focusing on what matters most, and that is obviously treatment and what it does for the patient's outcome,” said Dr Sarah Nietz, President-Elect of the Breast Interest Group of Southern Africa (BIGOSA), South Africa. 

The case for investing in women’s health is not only clinical, but economic. As Maturin Tchoumi put it: “If we invest in healthcare, we can turn those USD 10 billion in productivity losses into positive gains with a direct impact on GDP. The evidence clearly shows that investing in women’s health is not a cost or a social expense, but a powerful economic driver that underpins productivity, resilience, equity and sustainable growth across the continent.”

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