Health
AfDB, Others Launch Investment Platform to Strengthen Primary Healthcare

By Adedapo Adesanya
Three multilateral development banks — the African Development Bank, European Investment Bank (EIB), and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), have joined with the World Health Organization (WHO) to launch the new Health Impact Investment Platform.
This is aimed at investing in and strengthening essential, climate and crisis-resilient primary healthcare services in low- and low-and-middle-income countries.
The platform, launched during the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact being held in Paris, will make an initial €1.5 billion available to low- and low-and-middle-income countries in concessional loans and grants to expand the reach and scope of their primary healthcare services, especially for the most vulnerable and underserved populations and communities.
The banks and WHO are the platform’s founding members, with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) also considering joining this partnership in view to extending this initiative to Latin America and the Caribbean region.
WHO will act as the platform’s policy coordinator, responsible for ensuring the alignment of financing decisions with national health priorities and strategies.
The Platform’s secretariat will support governments in developing national health and prioritize primary healthcare investment plans. It will also aim to catalyse wider primary healthcare investments in support of government health strategies.
Speaking on this landmark development, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said the primary health care or PHC approach offers the most effective means to improve health and well-being, including through the delivery of essential health services to all people.
He noted that it is a driver of universal health coverage, one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. World leaders committed in 2015 to achieve access to essential healthcare services and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all people by 2030.
“Around 90 per cent of essential health services can be delivered through PHC – on the ground, in communities, via health professionals, doctors and nurses, in local clinics. The broad spectrum of services that PHC provides can promote health and prevent disease, avoid and delay the need for more costly secondary and tertiary services, and deliver rehabilitation,” said Dr Tedros.
“PHC serves as the ‘eyes and ears’ of a country’s health system, reaching to the very communities where people live. The new Health Impact Investment Platform will strengthen the development of such services, serving as an invaluable investment in the health of populations today and in the future.”
On his part, EIB President, Mr Werner Hoyer said the partner development banks were committed to supporting countries to strengthen their primary health care services, to both promote the health of their communities and protect against the impacts of future health emergencies.
“COVID-19 demonstrated the great human and economic suffering that can occur when we fail to invest in essential health services,” said Dr Hoyer. “Cooperation among multilateral development banks through the new Health Impact Investment Platform will ensure countries in need are better able to build resilient primary health care services that can withstand the shocks of future health crises and safeguard communities and economies for the future.
“We already proved that in earlier collaborations with the WHO. The platform will facilitate access to crucial international financing for the most vulnerable. It is a concrete deliverable of President Macron’s call to increase international financial solidarity with the Global South.”
Mr Muhammad Al Jasser, chairman of the Islamic Development Bank, said: “To achieve universal health coverage by 2030, development financial institutions and nations must prioritize investing more in health. The Islamic Development Bank is committed to working collaboratively to generate impactful results and ensure access to quality and affordable primary healthcare for all.”
“Our cooperation will help guide investments by national governments to strengthen primary health care and their overall health systems, increase universal health coverage and improve their ability to prepare for, prevent and respond to health emergencies.
“We will work with countries individually to identify gaps in national health systems, design interventions and investment strategies, find funding, implement projects and monitor their impact,” said Mr Akinwumi Adesina, the AfDB president.
Mr Ilan Goldfajn, President of the Inter-American Development Bank, said: “Good health and well-being are common goals that bind the world together. To achieve these goals, countries and institutions must collaborate. We are convinced that cooperation – not only between nations but also between governments and the private sector – is critical to achieving universal health coverage. Recognizing the global nature of this investment platform, we are already in discussions with other stakeholders to expand these efforts across Latin America and the Caribbean.
“We extend an open invitation to our partners to join this global investment platform.”
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO estimated that to reach the health-related Sustainable Development Goals, low- and low-and-middle-income countries needed to increase their health spending significantly and require an additional $371 billion annually combined by 2030.
This funding would allow populations to access health services, contribute to building new facilities and train and place health workers where they need to be. It has also been estimated that preparing for future pandemics will require investment in the order of $31.1 billion annually.
Approximately one-third of that total would have to come from international financing. The Health Impact Investment Platform’s catalytic financing is also designed to promote the mobilization and coordination of broader financing flows through national primary healthcare investment plans.
Health
AAN Seeks Swift Government Actions on Albinism Related Health Crisis

By Adedapo Adesanya
The Albinism Association of Nigeria (AAN) has intensified its call for swift actions by government and policymakers over the escalating health crisis facing persons with albinism (PWAs) in Nigeria.
The call came as the world marked World Cancer Day on February 4, 2025 under the theme United by Unique.
In a statement signed by the president of the association, Mrs Bisi Bamishe, the group said, “Our people are dying in silence, with little to no awareness of the immense health challenges we endure, particularly the devastating impact of skin cancer.
“Despite our continuous advocacy efforts, the plight of persons with albinism remains largely unaddressed, and the consequences are dire. Within just a few days, we have lost three of our beloved members to this ravaging disease.”
The group highlighted the graveness of the issue, adding that, many others are battling for their lives without access to proper medical care.
“The grim reality is that the community of persons with albinism in Nigeria is under siege, and urgent action is required to prevent further loss of lives.”
AAN used the calender event to call on the government across several tiers to join the fight and improve their inputs.
“The absence of structured government interventions, including access to free or subsidized skin cancer treatments, preventive measures such as sunscreen distribution, and specialized dermatological care, has left our community in a state of despair. Without immediate action, we will continue to witness the preventable deaths of our members,” the group lamented.
“We call on the federal, state, and local governments, the legislative arms at all levels, well-meaning individuals, local and international donors, and relevant stakeholders to stand with us in the fight against this dreaded disease,” it added.
It also noted that it has not rested on its oars with it’s multiple approach to raise awareness about the pressing health needs of persons with albinism.
“We have engaged policymakers, health authorities, and legislators, urging them to implement sustainable policies that will ensure access to affordable healthcare, routine skin cancer screening, and the provision of lifesaving treatments for affected persons.
“However, the time for mere discussions has passed. We need tangible, swift, and decisive actions to save lives,” the group added.
The association lauded the efforts and responsiveness of the Lagos State government and called on other states to follow in its footsteps.
“We must acknowledge the efforts of some state governors, development partners and NGOs that have done a lot for us. Special appreciation goes to Lagos State Government that has spent over N20 million on skin cancer patients in the last two years as well as provision of sunscreen, hats and umbrellas. We hope other states can follow suit as much as possible.”
Health
Nigeria Tightens Surveillance at Entry Point Amid Fresh Ebola Outbreak

By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria has tightened surveillance measures at entry points in the country owing to a fresh outbreak of Ebola disease in Uganda.
Last week, the Ugandan Ministry of Health confirmed the outbreak of the disease with one death and has now followed up with forty-four contacts.
With the latest development, the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Mr Jide Idris, in an advisory said although Nigeria has not recorded any outbreak of the disease, it is putting in place preventive measures.
“There are no cases of Ebola virus disease in Nigeria. However, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), in collaboration with relevant Ministries, Departments, Agencies, and Partners through the National Emerging Viral Hemorrhagic Diseases (EVHD) Technical Working Group, continues to monitor disease occurrence and has initiated measures to strengthen our preparedness in the country.
“These include the update of our EVD emergency contingency plan, heightened surveillance especially at the points of entry, and optimizing diagnostic capacity for EVD testing in designated laboratories in cities with international airports of entry and the National Reference Laboratory. In addition, all Lassa Fever testing laboratories can be activated to scale up testing if the need arises.”
According to the NCDC DG, there are no Ebola vaccines in Nigeria at the moment.
“There are vaccines and therapeutics available for some strains of the Ebola virus. The approved vaccine for the Zaire species (EBV) is not currently available in the country but can be obtained from the WHO Afro and does not protect against the Sudan virus,” he said.
However, the NCDC boss said, “Early recognition, isolation of patients, and initiation of supportive treatment, implementing infection and control measures in health facilities and homes, tracing and monitoring of contacts, and safe burial practices, significantly reduce morbidity and the probability of death.”
Ebola disease is a severe, and often fatal disease caused by the Ebola virus. It is transmitted to humans via contact with wild animals and spreads through human-to-human transmission via direct contact with bodily fluids of infected individuals or contaminated surfaces.
Symptoms may include fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, vomiting, diarrhoea, internal and external bleeding. It may appear 2 to 21 days after infection. Medical expertise are advised by the NCDC, in regard to this disease.
Health
i3 Shifts 3rd Cohorts Focus to Growth-Stage Healthtechs After Trump’s Orders

By Adedapo Adesanya
Investing in Innovation Africa (i3), a pan-African initiative to support African health-tech startups to commercialise and scale their offerings has decided to make a pivotal change to its third cohort selection to prioritise the immediate support for 5-7 growth-stage companies building the future of pharmacy care in Africa.
This comes after the US State Department’s “stop-work” directive for foreign aid issued on January 25, which is anticipated to impact the distribution of essential medicine in Africa’s healthcare supply chains.
President Donald Trump issued the executive order freezing US foreign development assistance for 90 days upon assuming office.
One of the affected by the order is the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which offers humanitarian and development assistance to other countries, primarily by giving fundings to non-governmental organisations, governments, and others. USAID is crucial in combating HIV/AIDS and other health matters.
According to a statement shared with Business Post on Monday, i3 says the order highlights and intensifies the need for locally-driven, market-creating approaches to health product distribution and service delivery across Africa.
So now the programme funded by the Gates Foundation, MSD, Cencora, Endless Foundation, HELP Logistics (a subsidiary of the Kühne Foundation), Sanofi’s Global Health Unit and Chemonics, will concentrate its immediate efforts on helping innovative growth-stage startups unlock major partnerships to rapidly expand access to patient care.
Fifteen leading startups will be selected for this cohort including 10 early-stage startups innovating in healthcare delivery or product distribution and five growth-stage startups building the future of pharmacy care.
Early-stage startups will receive a $50,000 grant and growth-stage startups will receive a $225,000 grant to unlock major partnerships that can expand patient access across the continent.
For startups in the cohort, i3 aims to facilitate at least 150 relationships with key healthcare organizations, worth at least $30M, which will expand patient access while creating valuable local jobs.
Entries for the 3rd cohort are open until February 28 after which the selected startups will be announced on April 30.
Launched in 2022, i3 has empowered 60 African health innovators across 16 countries, exceeding expectations with 43 per cent women-led and 20 per cent Francophone-led ventures.
-
Feature/OPED5 years ago
Davos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism9 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz2 years ago
Estranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking7 years ago
Sort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy2 years ago
Subsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking2 years ago
First Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports2 years ago
Highest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn
-
Technology4 years ago
How To Link Your MTN, Airtel, Glo, 9mobile Lines to NIN