Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Regional Investment Financing Project (ACDCP)
The World Bank’s Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Regional Investment Financing Project supports (with $250 million) Ethiopia, Zambia, and the African Union (AU) in combatting epidemics and advancing critical public health priorities. Launched in 2017, the project is linking existing public health institutions and pooling the capabilities of national health authorities. It is also financing the establishment of laboratories, transnational surveillance networks, emergency-response mechanisms, and other public health assets designed to manage diseases on a regional and continental scale. The project is supporting the implementation of Africa CDC’s flagship innovation RISLNET (Regional Integrated Surveillance and Laboratory Network) in the Eastern and Southern Africa regions.
It supports the development of guidelines and standards to improve coordination between the Africa CDC and national public health institutions across the African continent. The project facilitates the sharing of public health assets and the exchange of vital data on infectious diseases. It also aims to build the capacity of regional and continental public health institutions.
Regional Disease Surveillance Systems (REDISSE)
Currently in its fourth phase, the REDISSE Program leverages $657 million of World Bank financing to improve surveillance and laboratory capacity in 16 countries in West and Central Africa. Recipients include Angola, Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Togo, West African Health Organization (WAHO).
REDISSE provides countries with financing that is under their direct control to address key priorities. It ensures that financing for emergency responses is in place to decrease response delays in the event of a disease outbreak. It also finances regional level policy dialogue to promote information exchange, collective action and efficient use of country and shared resources, training institutions and commodity stockpiles for disease surveillance and response. Through the program, participating countries have also benefited from an early and immediate access to World Bank financing for COVID-19 preparedness and response, while complementary country-specific financing was mobilized from the World Bank’s COVID-19 Fast-Track Facility.
East Africa Health Laboratory Networking Project
The East Africa Public Health Laboratory Networking Project is a World Bank-funded regional laboratory network that includes Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. The project has significantly increased regional capacity to detect outbreaks and mount rapid effective responses, with access to quality diagnostic services expanded to vulnerable groups in border areas and serving over 10 million people (of which 60 percent are female).
Through a network of 41 upgraded laboratories, access to services has improved for vulnerable groups, while boosting cross-border disease outbreak preparedness. The project has allowed the creation of 10 cross-border committees across the five countries and one between Kenya/Uganda and South Sudan; screenings at selected border crossing points; enhanced diagnostic capacities for laboratory-confirmation of pathogens (from 8% to 100%); joint investigations on Ebola, Marburg, and yellow fever; continued strengthening of pandemic preparedness to address risks of cross-border transmission; and roll out of a mobile phone reporting system on disease outbreaks.
Health Security Program in Western and Central Africa
The Health Security Program in Western and Central Africa works in countries across the region to increase regional collaboration and health system capacities to prevent, detect, and respond to health emergencies. The project consists of five components including: (i) preventing health emergencies with a focus on strengthened planning and management of health security resources, as well as preventing and minimizing impacts of health threats such as zoonoses and antimicrobial resistance (AMR); (ii) detection of health emergencies focused on multisectoral surveillance systems and mechanisms for data sharing within and across borders, strong regional laboratory networks and multisectoral and integrated workforce required to enable early detection of health emergencies; and (iii) health emergency response focused on building and sustaining capacities that can prevent and prepare for an outbreak from becoming an epidemic or pandemic, through a focus on disease control and effective health emergency response.
During its first phase, the $500 million IDA-financed operation involves Cabo Verde, Guinea, Liberia, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to increase collaboration and improve health system capacities to prevent, detect, and respond to health emergencies in the region. It is focused on strengthening critical interconnected systems to improve health security for about 627 million people, targeting vulnerable groups such as infants and children, adolescents, mothers, and the elderly. The program is ramping up multisectoral preparedness and response capacities for health emergencies, relying on a One Health approach, and its interventions aim to address the intertwined nature of pandemics, AMR, and climate-related challenges persistent in the region.
Last Updated: Feb 18, 2025