Kenya is among the countries set to benefit from a $1 billion (Sh148.79 billion) credit and grant financing from the World Bank's health emergency preparedness and response programme.
The first phase of the three-part programme dubbed the Health Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Resilience Program (HEPRR) will see $359 million(Sh53.41 billion) disbursed to Ethiopia, Kenya, Sao Tome and Principe, the East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA-HC) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad).
The World Bank said the programme will nurture strong regional and multispectral partnerships for health security and health system capacities that will benefit vulnerable groups such as mothers, children, and disadvantaged populations, including internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees.
“In the aftermath of Covid-19, and in the face of persistent shocks to health service delivery, these resources will be vital to countries to strengthen their health emergency preparedness and response, revitalise their health systems, and enhance health service delivery to direct beneficiaries at country and regional levels,” said Boutheina Guermazi, World Bank director for Africa and the Middle East.
HEPRR supports the linkage between private sector players for the development of right legal and regulatory environment for vaccine and pharmaceutical manufacturing in Kenya, Ethiopia, and the Eastern and Southern Africa in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (Miga).
