Green Legacy Initiative Contributes to Healthier Generation: African Constituency Bureau

Addis Ababa, August 29, 2026 (ENA) —Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Initiative is contributing to the creation of a pollution-free environment and a healthier generation, the Executive Director of the African Constituency Bureau (ACB) for the Global Fund, Henry Fomundam said.

The 76th Session of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee for Africa has successfully concluded in Addis Ababa.

The forum, attended by African, regional, continental, and global health leaders, highlighted Ethiopia’s efforts to build a digital and artificial intelligence-supported health system, describing the initiative as a model for Africans in disease prevention and treatment.

It was also stated that Ethiopia has planted more than 50 billion seedlings under its Green Legacy Initiative, with the program contributing to agricultural productivity, the production of medicinal plants, and climate resilience.

Speaking to ENA on the sidelines of the forum, Henry Fomundam said cooperation is crucial to building strong and sustainable health systems in Africa.

He said Africa’s knowledge, natural resources, and adequate human capital can enable the continent to build strong health institutions of its own by modernizing health financing and management systems.

Fomundam also said the Green Legacy Initiative can help reduce health problems associated with climate change and improve citizens’ life expectancy.

He noted that Ethiopia, as a leading African country in large-scale tree planting through the Green Legacy Initiative, is making a significant contribution to creating a healthy generation living in a pollution-free environment.

He stressed that Africans should build their health systems through their own capabilities while maintaining partnerships with external stakeholders on an equal footing, rather than allowing such relationships to remain based on a donor-recipient model.

He further emphasized that ensuring Africa’s health sovereignty and self-reliance would not only strengthen the continent’s health systems but also enhance its economic and political standing and global competitiveness.

Fomundam also explained that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) presents an important opportunity to create linkages among pharmaceutical and medical equipment manufacturing industries across the continent.