DAVOS – On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, leading South African epidemiologist Professor Salim Abdool Karim delivered a clear message: the future of healthcare will depend on bold collaboration, universal access, and greater self-reliance — particularly for countries like South Africa.
Speaking after a high-level session on affordable healthcare, Abdool Karim described Davos as a rare space where political leaders, global health experts, academics and corporate executives engage directly on the future of healthcare systems.
“The World Economic Forum in Davos is just an amazing opportunity,” he said. “You have CEOs of major companies, ministers of health — including Germany’s — and academics from institutions like Harvard all in the same room.
The discussions are about where healthcare is going, how it will be funded, and what investments are needed to make it sustainable.”According to Abdool Karim, the discussions offered valuable lessons for countries like South Africa who are grappling with inequality and access to care.
At the centre of those lessons he says, is the principle of universal healthcare.“The National Health Insurance (NHI) is just one of many mechanisms under discussion,” he said.
“What’s critical is not the model itself, but the goal – universal healthcare. Right now, South Africa has a serious problem with access, and we need to fix that.”He said discussions in Davos highlighted the importance of innovative public-private partnerships as a way to expand healthcare coverage without overwhelming the public purse.
“There are lessons we can take from these global discussions about how partnerships between the public and private sectors can help make universal healthcare a reality,” said Abdool Karim.
Beyond healthcare systems, Abdool Karim also addressed growing global concern about the impact of geopolitical tensions and trade wars — particularly the withdrawal of US funding from key health programmes in South Africa supporting HIV and TB research and treatment.
“The way in which the US pulled out was very unfortunate and, frankly, designed to be cruel,” he said. “The consequences for HIV and TB programmes are serious.”However, he argued that the moment also presents an opportunity for countries like South Africa to rethink their dependence on traditional global donors.
“The world is not going back to the way it was. It’s going forward,” Abdool Karim said.
“We cannot keep thinking the US is going to rescue us. They’re not.”Instead, he called for greater self-reliance, new partnerships, and innovative funding models — particularly involving countries from the global South.“We’ve got to rescue ourselves,” he said. “We need to find new partners and new ways to fund what we need in TB, HIV and other diseases,” he said.
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