By Bamidele Famoofo
WorldStage—The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund has approved a grant of $14.26 million to the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) to strengthen health systems and medical regulations in seven West African countries.
The African Development Fund (ADF) contributes to the promotion of economic and social development in least developed African countries.
The grant from the concessional window of the African Development Bank Group aims to support the provision of quality, systematic healthcare and tackle public health and nutrition emergencies in Benin, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Togo.
WAHO plans to strengthen the institutional capacities of the regulatory authorities in Benin, The Gambia, Liberia and Sierra Leone to level 3 of the global benchmarking maturity scale, whilst equipping The Gambia’s national quality control laboratories with tools for the analysis and quality control of medicines and health products.
“The Bank’s support is justified by the cross-border nature of health security risks in the ECOWAS region, which require coordinated regional solutions with collective positive effects extending beyond individual countries,” said Lamin Barrow, the Bank Group’s Director General for West Africa. “Communicable diseases, labour shortages in the health sector, weak pharmaceutical regulatory systems that delay private sector investment, and limited laboratory capacity represent transnational challenges that cannot be effectively addressed by isolated national investments.”
Under the project, there are also plans to establish cross-border laboratories identified “One Health” in Benin and Togo (West African Pharmacopoeia), and to equip, repair and maintain biomedical and diagnostic equipment in healthcare facilities, including intensive care units and diagnostic laboratories for cervical and breast cancer (Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone).
In addition, work will be carried out on regional planning and investment in the health sector including a scoping study on investments by the African diaspora in health; the development of national investment plans and pacts for health personnel; and the assessment of the health labour market (Benin, The Gambia, Sierra Leone and Liberia).
The grant from the African Development Fund will benefit private-sector pharmaceutical manufacturers and suppliers in the beneficiary countries by reducing the time required to carry out quality testing and by curbing the supply of counterfeit medicines. The component dedicated to training young people is expected to create around 300 jobs, more than 40% of which would go to women.
