World Bank approves additional $18m to strengthen disease surveillance in West Africa

ABUBAKAR YUNUS Abuja

The World Bank says it has approved an additional $18 million to reinforce health systems and support effective disease surveillance in West Africa.

In a statement posted on its website, the Washington-based institution said the money would support the implementation of the ongoing regional disease surveillance systems enhancement programme (REDISSE) respectively in Benin ($6 million), Senegal ($7 million) and the West Africa Health Organisation ($5 million).

REDISSE is a regional multi-sectoral programme currently involving 16 countries in West and Central Africa – Angola, Benin, Chad, Central Africa Republic, Congo Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal, and Togo.

In addition to 16 beneficiary countries, two regional entities — the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) — also participate in the programme to ensure a high-level policy and regulatory harmonisation with a cross-sectoral approach aimed at improving cooperation and coordination of disease surveillance and epidemic preparedness across West and Central Africa.

The World Bank explained that the programme aimed to strengthen national and regional capacities to address disease threats at the human, animal, and environmental interface, which is the source of the most known epidemic-prone and novel pathogens.

“The REDISSE programme was approved in four phases in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively, with total financing from the World Bank of US$657 million. The new additional financings bring this total to $688.13 million,” the statement reads.

“The REDISSE programme was established prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and has proved to be instrumental to the initial emergency COVID-19 response activities, repurposing its funding to allow participating countries to undertake surveillance and contact tracing activities; conduct laboratory testing and diagnosis; procure essential drugs, equipment, material, and commodities; and organise training for healthcare staff.”

Commenting on the development, Boutheina Guermazi, World Bank regional integration director for sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and northern Africa, said the existence of the REDISSE programme in the countries prior to COVID-19 allowed the use of an already established platform, nascent systems, and financing to quickly kick-start COVID-19 emergency response, thanks to the flexibilities allowed by the programme’s design.

“These additional financings will help Benin, Senegal, and WAHO to complete the remaining originally planned activities to enhance surveillance and information systems, strengthen the laboratory systems, and build capacities to foster inter-country collaboration and coordination of disease surveillance and epidemic preparedness in West Africa,” she explained.