African Development Bank, Pandemic Fund sign agreement to leverage resources for pandemic preparedness
African Development Bank (www.afdb.org) Group has signed an agreement to become the implementing entity of the pandemic fund (https://apo-opa.co/4H0TQU3). This allows banks to coordinate financing of projects approved by the fund in Africa and participate in soliciting proposals for investments that will be launched next month.
The financial process agreement with the World Bank Group in January (the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development Bank serves as the trustee of the pandemic fund) was eligible to involve the African Development Bank in participating in the $500 million fund secretariat to raise funds to propose pandemic-related programs, projects and policies, focusing on low and medium countries.
The Pandemic Fund is a partnership between donor countries, co-investors, foundations and civil society organizations hosted by the World Bank. The World Health Organization is a technical leader. The Fund assists countries and regions in strengthening their health systems and increasing investments, enabling them to improve pandemic, readiness and response capabilities.
“The demand for African countries is increasing to overcome the national health infrastructure gap exposed by the COVID-19-19 pandemic and other health crises. As a pandemic fund for implementing entities, the African Development Bank is leveraging our experience in combining infrastructure financing with complementary support to improve the quality of life for African people.
The fund’s proposal calls for phases: the first phase will be opened to single and multi-country proposals in March 2025; the second phase will be launched for regional proposals in June 2025.
To date, the Pandemic Fund has made two calls for proposals and approved 47 projects affecting 75 countries in six regions around the world. On average, 43% of its resources have been allocated to countries in sub-Saharan Africa, where the region has the highest demand for pandemic fund grants. At the call of the second proposal, more than half of the granted funds were handed over to sub-Saharan Africa.
As an implementing entity, the African Development Bank will also play a supervisory role, provide implementation support to the beneficiary implementation organization, and provide financial and progress reports to the fund’s management committee.
The bank’s cooperation with the pandemic fund and its cooperation Strategies for quality and health infrastructure in Africa Aim to enhance healthcare infrastructure and improve health in Africa.
In June 2023, the bank approved approximately US$124 million in financing for the expansion of healthcare services in Morocco. The country’s “Inclusive Access Program to Integrated Healthcare Infrastructure” program has built-in specialized health services in women and children’s centres, supporting construction and equip hospitals, and providing telemedicine and remote training facilities for remote sites.
Dunford said continuing to work with the pandemic fund could help more Africans experience the benefits of strengthening the healthcare system.
“As a major financial institution in Africa, we are ready to provide support for beneficiary implementation organizations, regional member states of the bank and regional economic communities where the Pandemic Foundation has proposed for the third time. The bank will utilize the resources of the fund and our funding tools to achieve greater and better results,” she added.
The Pandemic Fund was established in September 2022 with the bank participating as an observer and officially announced the 20 (G20) meeting in Bali, Indonesia, two months later.
Distributed by Apo Group on behalf of the African Development Bank Group (AFDB).
Media Contact:
Alphonso van Marsh
Chief Digital Content and Event Officer
e-mail: media@afdb.org
About the African Development Bank Group:
The African Development Bank Group is the major development financial institution in Africa. It includes three different entities: the African Development Bank (AFDB), the African Development Foundation (ADF) and the Nigerian Trust Fund (NTF). The bank contributes to the economic development and social progress of its 54 regional member states in 41 African countries with external positions in Japan. For more information: www.afdb.org
