The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund (ADF) will be funding countries in Southern Africa (SADC) to the tune of $9.57 million, in grants.
The funding is to strengthen regional health security and emergency preparedness.
In addition, some 449 laboratory technicians, will be trained, as well as community health workers and trainers, including 269 women.
Around 35 nutrition coordinators, including 21 women, from the training institutions will receive certification.
Diagnostic laboratories, wastewater and environmental surveillance laboratories in six beneficiary countries will be renovated and equipped as part of the central component on infrastructure upgrade.
The project will also modernise the Instituto Nacional de Saúde in Mozambique to serve as a regional reference laboratory and strengthen the national blood bank in Lesotho.
Kennedy Mbekeani, African Development Bank’s Director General for Southern Africa, said “this operation aims to address the persistent fragility of health systems in the SADC, which remain vulnerable to zoonotic outbreaks and cholera epidemics, high malnutrition rates and limited human resources, as well as inadequate emergency preparedness.”