WHO, European Investment Bank want more cooperation for COVID-19 containment

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday announced that it will boost cooperation with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to strengthen public health, supply of essential equipment, training and hygiene investment in countries vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus signed a memorandum of understanding with the Luxembourg-based EIB, the lending arm of the European Union (EU), to enhance cooperation to support countries in addressing the impact of COVID-19.

"The COVID-19 crisis has illustrated that even the most sophisticated health systems have struggled to cope with a pandemic. With the EIB, we will therefore work urgently to invest in health infrastructure and health workers in 10 countries in Africa and the Middle East, to start with," Tedros said at a virtual press conference from Geneva.

He added that EIB and WHO will also cooperate to support the COVID-19 supply chain system, to facilitate the distribution of diagnostics, personal protective equipment and other medical supplies to countries that need them most.

According to a WHO statement issued Friday, the new partnership will benefit from the EIB's planned 1.4-billion-euro (1.54-billion-U.S. dollar) response to address the health, social and economic impact of COVID-19 in Africa.

Under the new agreement, the EIB and WHO will also support the development of the EU Malaria Fund, a new 250-million-euro public-private initiative intended to address market failures holding back more effective malaria treatment, according to WHO. (1 euro = 1.1 U.S. dollars)