The African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional arm of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, has approved a USD 9.57 million grant to help Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states build more resilient health systems capable of responding faster to disease outbreaks, nutrition emergencies, and cross-border public health threats.
Approved on 3 March 2026, the financing will fund the Resilient Health Systems for Emergency Preparedness Project, an initiative designed to strengthen the resilience and capacity of health systems across the SADC region to respond more effectively to public health and nutrition emergencies. The project includes the training of 449 laboratory technicians, community health workers, and trainers, of whom 269 are women, using approaches that mainstream gender considerations, climate change adaptation, and the One Health approach.
A cornerstone of the project is also the training of 35 nutrition coordinators, including 21 women, from institutions specialising in nutrition and gender in emergencies, who will receive certification. Revised academic curricula are expected to benefit approximately 240 students annually, building a sustainable regional pool of expertise in nutrition and gender-responsive emergency management.
On the infrastructure side, the project will fund the renovation and equipping of diagnostic laboratories, wastewater monitoring facilities, and environmental surveillance laboratories in six participating countries. A key component is the modernisation of the Instituto Nacional de Saúde in Mozambique to serve as a regional reference laboratory, alongside strengthening of the national blood bank in Lesotho. A mobile cross-border laboratory will also be deployed at two strategic border points in Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
Kennedy Mbekeani, AfDB Director General for Southern Africa, said the investment directly targets the structural vulnerabilities that have repeatedly exposed the region to preventable health crises. “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,” Mbekeani said.
The grant comes as the SADC region faces recurring challenges including cholera outbreaks, zoonotic diseases, high malnutrition rates, and shortages of trained personnel. By focusing on human resource development, laboratory infrastructure, and cross-border coordination, the project aims to build sustainable capacity for health and nutrition emergency responses across the region.
