President Cyril Ramaphosa warned that still too many women die in childbirth of preventable causes, calling on governments to increase investment in the health of women, children and adolescents.

Ramaphosa was speaking during the United Nations Population Fund and Global Leaders Network on Investing in Peace: Health for Adolescent Youth and Women at the ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development Summit in Japan, where he said with official development assistance having been cut, many countries were pursuing domestic resource mobilisation as a sustainable health financing solution.

He acknowledged that too many children and adolescents still suffered and died from illnesses which could be prevented or treated.

“The moral imperative is clear: no woman, child or adolescent should die of preventable causes. We must stand firm against the reversals we are witnessing in sexual and reproductive health and rights,” he added.

Ramaphosa called on countries to place women, children and adolescents at the centre of their design and implementation, as they advanced universal health coverage.

He said health services needed to be “safe, effective, compassionate and responsive” to the lived realities of those who needed them most.

“However, we must continue to foster the principle of solidarity through multilateral financing solutions. This includes the consideration of a gap financing mechanism to address the needs of countries and communities most affected by the withdrawal of official development assistance,” he said.

He wants governments to also uphold sexual and reproductive health rights, noting that a lack of access to safe abortion leads to higher incidents of deaths, costly complications and permanent damage, leading to infertility.

He called on governments, financing institutions, development partners, civil society and the private sector to reaffirm and protect funding for women’s, children’s, and adolescents’ health as a core pillar of development cooperation, even amid shifting global priorities.

Ramaphosa said health must be integrated into broader development and climate strategies, arguing that resilient health systems were essential for adaptation, recovery and long-term sustainability.

He also noted that the continuation of investment in innovation and digital health solutions bridged gaps in access, particularly for rural and marginalised communities, and said accountability must always be ensured, so that commitments translated into measurable improvements in survival, well-being and equity.

“We believe that every woman has autonomy over her sexuality and reproductive choices. Every adolescent should get comprehensive sexual education. Every person should be free from sexually transmitted diseases,” said Ramaphosa.