The African Development Bank Group has approved a 9.57 million dollar grant to strengthen health systems across Southern Africa, marking a fresh push to bolster regional emergency preparedness in the face of recurring disease outbreaks and nutrition crises.
The funding, cleared on 3 March 2026 by the Board of Directors of the African Development Fund, will support the Resilient Health Systems for Emergency Preparedness Project across member states of the Southern African Development Community. The initiative is designed to reinforce regional health security and improve the capacity of national systems to respond swiftly to public health and nutrition emergencies.
According to the Bank, the project will focus on both human capital development and infrastructure upgrades. A total of 449 laboratory technicians, community health workers and trainers will undergo specialised training, including 269 women. The programme integrates gender inclusion, climate adaptation and the One Health approach, which recognises the link between human, animal and environmental health.
In addition, 35 nutrition coordinators drawn from institutions that specialise in nutrition and gender in emergencies will receive certification, among them 21 women. Revised training curricula are expected to benefit about 240 students each year, building a steady pipeline of experts in nutrition and gender responsive emergency management across the region.
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A major component of the intervention involves the rehabilitation and equipping of diagnostic, wastewater and environmental surveillance laboratories in six beneficiary countries. The project will also modernise the Instituto Nacional de Saúde in Mozambique to serve as a regional reference laboratory, while strengthening the national blood bank in Lesotho to improve blood safety and availability.
To improve cross-border disease detection and response, the Bank will support the establishment of a regional framework for model cross-border laboratories. A mobile laboratory will also be deployed at two strategic border points in Mozambique and Zimbabwe to enhance rapid testing and surveillance.
Kennedy Mbekeani, the African Development Bank’s Director General for Southern Africa, said the operation seeks to tackle persistent weaknesses in the region’s health systems. He noted that many countries within SADC remain exposed to zoonotic disease outbreaks, cholera epidemics, high levels of malnutrition and limited human resources, alongside weak emergency preparedness structures.
The African Development Bank Group operates through three entities: the African Development Bank, the African Development Fund and the Nigeria Special Fund. With operations in 41 African countries and a field office in Japan, the Bank supports economic development and social progress across its 54 regional member states.
