AfDB grants $14.26 million to strengthen West African health systems

The Gambia will also receive support to upgrade its national quality control laboratories, with new equipment aimed at improving the testing and analysis of medicines and medical products.

The African Development Fund has approved a $14.26 million grant to the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) to strengthen healthcare systems, improve medical regulation, and enhance preparedness for public health and nutrition emergencies across seven West African countries.

The funding, provided through the concessional arm of the African Development Bank Group, will support coordinated health system improvements in Benin, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Togo. The aim is to improve the quality and consistency of healthcare delivery across borders, where shared health risks continue to strain national systems.

Stronger regulation and laboratory capacity across the region

A major focus of the programme is strengthening the institutional capacity of national regulatory authorities in Benin, The Gambia, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, with the goal of reaching level 3 on the global benchmarking maturity scale. This upgrade is intended to improve oversight of medicines and health products, ensuring safer and more reliable healthcare systems.

The Gambia will also receive support to upgrade its national quality control laboratories, with new equipment aimed at improving the testing and analysis of medicines and medical products. This is expected to reduce delays in quality assurance and improve protection against substandard or counterfeit pharmaceuticals entering the supply chain.

WAHO will also establish cross-border "One Health" laboratories in Benin and Togo under the West African Pharmacopoeia framework, designed to support coordinated testing and surveillance across national boundaries.

Investment in equipment, workforce, and health planning

The programme includes upgrades to biomedical and diagnostic equipment across healthcare facilities in Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. This will cover critical care units as well as diagnostic services for diseases such as cervical and breast cancer, where early detection and treatment capacity remain limited in many areas.

Alongside infrastructure improvements, the project will support regional health workforce planning, including studies on diaspora investment in healthcare, development of national health workforce investment plans, and assessments of labour market gaps in countries such as Benin, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.

Officials say these efforts are intended to improve long-term planning in the health sector, particularly in addressing staffing shortages and uneven distribution of skilled health workers.

Regional cooperation aimed at safer medicines and stronger systems

According to Lamin Barrow, Director General for West Africa at the African Development Bank Group, health risks in the region often cross borders, making coordinated responses essential. He pointed to challenges such as communicable diseases, shortages in healthcare staff, weak pharmaceutical regulation, and limited laboratory capacity as issues that cannot be solved by individual countries alone.

The programme is also expected to support private-sector pharmaceutical companies by speeding up quality testing processes and reducing delays in regulatory approval. It will also help reduce the circulation of counterfeit medicines, which remains a major concern in parts of the region.

A targeted training component is expected to create around 300 jobs, with more than 40 percent of opportunities directed toward women, supporting broader efforts to expand inclusive employment in the health sector.