AfDB Outlines New Health Infrastructure Strategy to Health Ministers in ECOWAS

ThursdayNovember 25, 2021 / 01:55 PM / by AfDB / Header ImageCredit: ECOWAS

Currently in theconsultation phase, the strategy entails policy dialogue and technicalassistance on effective financing strategies, including expanding healthinsurance

African Development Bank Vice President Dr. BethDunford has outlined the details of a new strategy that seeks to boost accessto health services across the continent.

Dunford delivered the message in a keynote speech atthe 22nd Ordinary Session of the Economic Community of West African StatesAssembly of Health Ministers in Abuja.

Opening the meeting on behalf of Nigeria's PresidentMuhammadu Buhari, the country's Health Minister Osagie Ehanire, noted that theCovid-19 pandemic had exposed the fragility of health systems andinfrastructure in the sub-region.

"The challenges posed by the pandemic havestrengthened our collective resolve as a region to build back better, and partof our strategy is to work together as a regional bloc. It is in this regardthat we appreciate and commend the support and leadership role of ourdevelopment partners such as African Development Bank Group in the developmentof quality health infrastructure across the continent," the Health Ministersaid.

Representing Bank Group President Dr. Akinwumi A.Adesina at the event, Dunford explained that the strategy focuses on threecategories: primary healthcare infrastructure for underserved populations;developing new secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities alongsidespecialist facilities for cancer diagnosis and treatment, dialysis and painmanagement; and building diagnostic infrastructure for efficient and effectivedisease diagnosis across Africa.

"Covid-19 is a wake-up call on the central role ofhealth systems and infrastructure for inclusive economic growth," said Dunford,Bank Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development. "Developingquality health infrastructure is a triple imperative - health infrastructure isfundamental to public health, has significant economic impact, and is ofstrategic importance for governments," she added.

Currently in the consultation phase, the strategyentails policy dialogue and technical assistance on effective financingstrategies, including expanding health insurance. Its implementation will boostthe continent's efforts to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal 3 whichrefers to good health and well-being.

Dunford said the Bank was poised to play a criticalrole as a health infrastructure financier by drawing on its expertise ininfrastructure development and working with sector partners.

"The portfolio will include investment projects,results-based financing, risk-sharing instruments to leverage private sectorresources, debt and equity investments in private companies, and the promotionof innovative sources of finance, such as diaspora funds." Dunford said fillingthe financing gap for health infrastructure would require mobilizing financesfrom the private sector, development finance institutions and diaspora groups. "The Bank cannot do it without your ownership and support," she said.

Stanley Okolo, Director General of the West AfricanHealth Organization, welcomed the BankÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s initiative to support the developmentof quality health infrastructure across Africa.

The African Development Bank launched amulti-billion-dollar Covid-19 Response Facility and issued a $3 billionCovid-19 bond to support the efforts of African countries to mitigate thehealth and economic impacts of the pandemic.