The President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has welcomed the €82.5 million support offered to Ghana by the European Investment Bank (EIB) to strengthen healthcare, provision of specialist medical equipment and medicines across Ghana under the national COVID-19 Health Response Plan.
The concessional financing package, which comprises a €75 million facility from the EIB, and €7.5 million grant from the European Commission, was signed at the Luxembourg Headquarters of the European Investment Bank, following President Akufo-Addo’s official visit to Luxembourg on Monday, 13th December 2021.
The new agreement with Ghana represents the largest national EIB financing for COVID related health investment in Africa.
The new facility, representing the EIB’s largest support for COVID related health investment in sub-Saharan
Africa, was signed by one behalf of Ghana by Hon. Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Ambroise Fayolle, European Investment Bank Vice President, in the presence of President Nana Akufo-Addo, EIB President Werner Hoyer and H.E. Sena Siaw-Boateng, Ambassador of Ghana to the European Union.
“Strengthened cooperation between Africa and multilateral development partners is crucial to share global best practice and ensure a rapid response to health, social and health challenges triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The European Investment Bank and the European Union are key partners for Ghana and I welcome their support for our national COVID-19 Health Response Plan,” President Akufo-Addo said.
He continued, “Ghanaian and EIB experts have worked tirelessly in recent months to finalise this initiative since President Hoyer and I met earlier this year. Specialist healthcare and medical services will benefit from both the EIB’s largest backing for COVID health resilience in Africa and EU grant support”.
“Ghana has taken visionary steps to ensure that the impact of COVID can be managed and long-term investment unlocked to strengthen both health services and access to finance by business. A few months ago President Akufo-Addo and I confirmed EIB backing for the Development Bank of Ghana. It is an honour to
welcome our Ghanaian friends to our Luxembourg headquarters to demonstrate the impact of our joint response to improve COVID-19 healthcare and discuss how to further strengthen Team Europe’s partnership to improve lives and opportunities in Ghana in the years ahead.” said Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank.
“Europe and Ghana stand side by side to tackle the health challenges triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The new Team Europe support for Ghana’s COVID-19 Health Response Plan will strengthen public health and enhance resilience to the pandemic across Ghana in the months and years ahead through new investment backed by the European Union and European Investment Bank.” said Jutta Urpilainen, European Union Commissioner for International Partnerships.
The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss recent EIB support for the retrofit of the Kpong Dam, Development Bank Ghana and COVAX, explore future cooperation to support local vaccine manufacturing and outline the EIB’s strengthened engagement in Africa through a new dedicated development finance branch to be launched in the new year.
The EIB and EU backed health investment will improve medical treatment for patients with COVID at Treatment and Isolation Centres and Intensive Care
Units, as well as measures to detect and contain the virus and slow down transmission. The initiative will both enhance medical treatment during the pandemic and enhance public health in the years ahead.
Ghana was the first country in Africa to receive COVID-19 vaccines under the EIB and EU backed COVAX initiative. EIB experts also briefed President Akufo-Addo on plans to further accelerate delivery of vaccines across sub-Saharan Africa.
