The World Bank has given African countries $1 billion to improve preparedness and response to health emergencies in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa.    

The programme will be implemented three phases, with the initial stage alone reaching more than 182 million people, with the number of beneficiaries increasing substantially over the next seven years, the World Bank said in a statement.

The program will provide $359 million in credit and grant financing under phase one alone, it said.    

This phase will cover Ethiopia, Kenya, Sao Tome and Principe, the East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in Eastern Africa.    

The Bank's program is designed to address the persistent and increasing threats from various acute and chronic health emergencies in Africa, including communicable and non-communicable diseases, some of which are being brought on by climate change.

“In the aftermath of COVID-19, and in the face of persistent shocks to health service delivery, these resources will be vital to countries to strengthen their health emergency preparedness and response,” Boutheina Guermazi, World Bank Regional Integration Director for Africa and the Middle East, said.

Ramesh Govindaraj, World Bank Lead Specialist, Health, Nutrition and Population Global Practice, said the program "can be a catalyst for African countries to learn from global experiences and leapfrog other regions in combating health emergencies regionally.” 

Specific efforts to strengthen links with the private sector under the project include providing support to countries for developing a legal and regulatory environment for vaccine and pharmaceutical manufacturing, the Bank said.

The project outlines a partnership between Kenya, Ethiopia, the Eastern and Southern Africa region in partnership and the International Finance Corporation and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency.

A report published in January by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies warned that the world is "dangerously unprepared" for pandemics in the future. 

It urged governments to make modifications to their readiness plans by the end of the year. 

 (Editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com)