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The EU announces a Team Europe investment in health of almost €170 million in Africa

The European Commission and Member States announced €169 million in investments to support stronger and more resilient health systems in Africa ahead of the World Health Summit in Berlin this weekend. These investments aim to support health sovereignty, health security and equitable access to health products and services on the continent. The announcements contribute to the African Union  – EU Health Partnership and are an important component of putting into practice the EU Global Health Resilience Initiative.

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The planned investments include €6.5 million from the European Commission to expand sustainable pathogen genomics capacity across Members of the African Union and more than €30 million for research supporting areas including clinical research and pandemic preparedness. The European Commission also confirms its investment of €7.5 million to strengthen health resilience in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

EU Member States are also stepping up their investments. France extends its support to epidemic threat surveillance with €2.5 million. Germany is providing €20 million to catalyse investment in African small medium enterprises active in the health sector and value chains, including local manufacturing of medicines and vaccines. Sweden is providing €3.4 million to support continued access to sexual and reproductive health products, while the Netherlands is investing €99 million in an HIV/AIDS programme covering six Southern African countries and neighbouring areas.

Since 2021, Africa and Europe have accelerated their partnership on health through five interconnected thematic areas: manufacturing and access to vaccines, medicines and health technologies (MAV+), sexual and reproductive health and rights, sustainable health security, digital health, and support for public health institutes