According to the Bank’s website, the Resilient Health Systems for Emergency Preparedness (RHeSEP) Project is a regional initiative implemented by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat to strengthen health security and emergency preparedness across the SADC region. The project has a total cost of UA 7.70 million, financed by a UA 6.97 million grant from the African Development Fund under the Regional Public Goods window and a UA 0.74 million in-kind contribution from SADC. The project supports six priority ADF countries—Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe—while strengthening regional systems that benefit all SADC member states. The initiative focuses on improving laboratory capacity, strengthening medicines regulatory harmonization and pooled procurement, enhancing regional health data systems, and building institutional capacity for coordinated responses to health emergencies.

The project aims to strengthen the resilience and preparedness of health systems in the SADC region to effectively prevent, detect, and respond to public health and nutrition emergencies. It focuses on enhancing diagnostic capacity through improved laboratories and genomic sequencing, strengthening medicines regulatory systems and regional pooled procurement mechanisms to ensure timely access to safe and quality medicines, and improving integrated digital health information systems for real-time surveillance and data-driven decision-making. The project also promotes a One Health approach linking human, animal, and environmental health, while supporting innovation and youth-led digital solutions to improve emergency preparedness and supply chain transparency.

The project directly benefits six priority countries—Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe—while indirectly strengthening health security systems across all SADC member states. Direct beneficiaries include laboratory personnel, health professionals, regulatory authorities, data specialists, and youth entrepreneurs involved in health innovation initiatives. The project will strengthen six laboratories capable of testing more than 260,000 samples annually and train hundreds of health experts in laboratory diagnostics, nutrition in emergencies, and gender-responsive health systems. Ultimately, the initiative benefits populations across the region by improving disease surveillance, accelerating access to essential medicines, strengthening emergency response capacity, and building more resilient and inclusive health systems capable of responding to pandemics, climate-related health shocks, and cross-border disease outbreaks.

The project is classified Category 3 (Low Risk). This classification is justified by nature, scale and magnitude of the proposed activities that consist mostly of technical assistance and minor renovation civil works, which is likely to cause no direct adverse Environmental and Social (E&S) risks and impacts.

No physical resettlement or economic displacement is expected to occur during the implementation of the operation.

The project has a total cost of UA 7.70 million, financed by a UA 6.97 million grant from the African Development Fund under the Regional Public Goods window and a UA 0.74 million in-kind contribution from SADC.

Financial Instrument: Project Cycle Grant / Institutional Support and Rehabilitation Grant
Commitments (UA): 6,970,000
Conversion Rate USD (2026-03-02): 1,36276
Commitments (USD): 9,498,437.2

Name: Susan Achieng OLANG'O
Email: s.olang'o@afdb.org

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.afdb.org/en/disclosure-and-access-to-information/request-for-documents. Under the AfDBs Disclosure and Access to Information policy, if you feel the Bank has omitted to publish information or your request for information is unreasonably denied, you can file an appeal at https://www.afdb.org/en/disclosure-and-access-to-information/appeals-process.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF AfDB

The Independent Review Mechanism (IRM), which is administered by the Compliance Review and Mediation Unit (CRMU), is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an African Development Bank (AfDB)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the IRM, it may assist you by either seeking to address your problems by facilitating a dispute resolution dialogue between you and those implementing the project and/or investigating whether the AfDB complied with its policies to prevent environmental and social harms. You can submit a complaint electronically by emailing crmuinfo@afdb.org, b.kargougou@afdb.org, b.fall@afdb.org, and/or s.toure@afdb.org. You can learn more about the IRM and how to file a complaint at: https://www.afdb.org/en/independent-review-mechanism/