Eleven of Africa’s leading health economists, systems and policy researchers have joined forces to launch the continent’s first bilingual, fully open-access, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to health economics, health systems and health policy, as governments across Africa struggle with a sharp decline in donor health funding.
The African Journal of Health Economics, Systems and Policy (AJHESP) officially launch Today, May 4, 2026, with submissions already open, positioning itself as a major platform for African-led research to guide urgent policy decisions on health financing and system reforms.
The launch comes at a critical time when African governments are under increasing pressure to finance their own health systems amid shrinking international support. Research published in The Lancet by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation shows that development assistance for health in Africa dropped dramatically from US$80 billion in 2021 to less than US$40 billion by 2025, cutting donor support by more than half in just four years.
AJHESP’s founders say the journal is designed to fill a long-standing gap by making African health financing evidence more accessible to policymakers who often cannot reach research locked behind expensive paywalls in foreign journals.
“African governments are being asked to finance their own health systems at the exact moment donor funding is contracting. That requires evidence, the right evidence, produced in the right context, accessible to the right people. That is the gap AJHESP fills,” Dr. Alex Adjagba, Co-Editor-in-Chief of AJHESP said.
According to him, the journal will publish in both English and French, allowing authors to submit in either language while ensuring abstracts, editorial communications and website content are available bilingually, saying, it will also offer an option for abstracts in African languages.
For his part, Professor Justice Nonvignon, Co-Editor-in-Chief and Professor of Health Economics at the University of Ghana, African health financing stories have often been told without sufficient context.
“How the story of African health financing systems is told requires more context, which often gets missing when the data are published elsewhere. AJHESP is the place to tell that story better and shape context-relevant and evidence-informed policies,” he narrated.
The founding editorial board includes 11 researchers from 10 African countries and the diaspora, collectively contributing more than 750 peer-reviewed publications. Their expertise spans health economics, health systems, financing and policy reform.
Moreover, the journal also promises no article processing charges for most corresponding authors based at African institutions, removing one of the biggest barriers African researchers face in academic publishing. Speaking, Prof. Lumbwe Chola of the University of Oslo described the initiative as ending a painful choice for African scholars abroad.
“African researchers in the diaspora have always had to navigate a choice: publish where it counts for your career or publish where it matters for the communities you came from. AJHESP makes that a false choice,” he said.
Beyond traditional academic publishing, AJHESP will include policy papers, commentaries, perspectives and a podcast aimed at helping research findings reach decision-makers faster.
Experts say the journal’s creation could significantly influence how Africa responds to growing pressure for domestic health financing, especially as bilateral and multilateral health aid continues to shrink. “Health ministers across Africa are making billion-dollar financing decisions right now. The evidence they need exists. The problem has always been getting it to them in a form they can use. That is what this journal is for,” Prof. Edwine Barasa of KEMRI-Wellcome Trust added.
AJHESP is independent and not affiliated with any government, United Nations agency or international organisation. Its founders say its mission is simple: ensure Africa’s health policy decisions are driven by African evidence, produced by African researchers, for African realities.
