Governing access to emergency care in Africa

Emergency care not only has the potential to address a large portion of death and disability in low- and middle-income countries, it is also essential to achieving the current Universal Health Coverage agenda and fulfilling the universal human right to the highest attainable standard of health. One of six health system building blocks, governance is often neglected but nonetheless essential for guaranteeing access and strengthening emergency care systems in Africa. In this paper, we highlight key components of governance that are necessary to guaranteeing access to emergency care, describe current examples of emergency care accessibility laws and regulation in various African countries, and suggest priorities for measuring and evaluating the impact of legal guarantees for access to emergency care in Africa.