The European Investment Bank’s development arm, EIB Global, has announced a €10 million technical assistance package aimed at strengthening primary healthcare systems in Sub-Saharan Africa and improving access to sustainable health financing.
The initiative will initially benefit Angola, Burundi, Ethiopia, and Zambia, supporting governments in designing and structuring health projects that can attract larger-scale domestic and international investment. The programme focuses on improving project preparation, planning, and prioritisation to make healthcare investments more “bankable” and scalable.
The support is being delivered through the Health Impact Investment Platform (HIIP), a joint initiative involving EIB Global, the Islamic Development Bank, and the World Health Organization. Together, the partners are mobilising an initial €30 million to enhance technical assistance and build stronger health investment pipelines across low- and middle-income countries.
Officials say the programme is designed to address long-standing challenges in healthcare financing, including limited project preparation capacity, regulatory complexity, and reliance on grant-based funding models. These constraints have often made it difficult for countries to develop large, structured health investment projects capable of attracting private capital.
By providing technical assistance and investment readiness support, the HIIP aims to reduce fragmentation in funding and help governments align health investments with national priorities. The goal is to accelerate progress toward universal health coverage by strengthening primary healthcare systems.
EIB Global leadership highlighted that coordinated efforts between multilateral development banks, global health organisations, and development partners can help reduce investment risks and unlock additional financing for critical health infrastructure.
The initiative is also expected to support a broader shift toward blended finance models in global health, where concessional funding is used to catalyse larger public and private investment flows. This approach is seen as key to expanding healthcare access in resource-constrained settings.
Beyond Africa, the Health Impact Investment Platform is also engaging with countries in Asia, including Kazakhstan, the Maldives, and Tajikistan, to support similar health system strengthening efforts.
The EIB, as one of the world’s largest multilateral development banks, continues to expand its global development role through its EIB Global arm, aligning with broader international efforts to improve health, climate resilience, and sustainable development outcomes.
