Comparative study: mapping treatment costs, best practices, and challenges across Africa

This paper presents the findings of the Siemens Healthineers SHIFT Innovation Pan-Africa Capacity Building Program, which aims to improve access and affordability of healthcare across Africa through knowledge sharing and the transfer of best practices. The study focuses on comparing the cost of treating liver cancer, lung cancer, coronary artery disease (CAD), and stroke in different African countries. These conditions represent a major and growing share of the non-communicable disease (NCD) burden across the African continent. They are also strategic focus areas for Siemens Healthineers due to their high clinical impact, complex diagnostic requirements, and the significant health system resources needed for effective management. These diseases serve as suitable proxies for assessing broader access challenges because they require timely detection, advanced imaging, laboratory diagnostics, specialized treatment pathways, and long-term follow-up care. Any gaps in diagnostic capacity, equipment availability, clinical workflow efficiency, workforce skills, or financing structures become immediately visible along these patient pathways. Comparing the differences with the best practices and challenges of each country, the programme aims to facilitate cross-cultural learning to bridge the gap between high- and low-value treatments. The study draws on detailed data on medical expenditure in several African countries, including public and private health services. Cost differences are analyzed taking into account medical procedures, drugs, diagnostic tests and hospital costs. In addition, the factors contributing to these cost variations, including healthcare delivery, resource availability, regulatory framework, and socio-economic factors, examined to develop standardized strategies to reduce medical costs and improve overall health outcomes. The results of this study will be a valuable resource for policy makers, healthcare providers and stakeholders to identify areas for improvement and take targeted actions. Ultimately, the aim is to improve access, affordability and quality of healthcare across Africa and ensure that life-saving treatments are readily available and affordable for all people on the continent.