The European Investment Bank (EIB) and MedAccess have signed a Guarantee Agreement worth up to €52 million to help improve access to critical health products in Africa, the EIB announced. The agreement is one of the first operations under the Human Development Accelerator, a joint program between the European Commission, the EIB and the Gates Foundation to speed up investment opportunities that enable greater access to and affordability of health products in low- and middle-income countries. It aligns with the European Union’s Global Gateway Strategy.
EIB’s guarantee will allow MedAccess to pursue more volume guarantees for the health sector in Africa. Volume guarantees help make medical products more available and affordable by reducing demand-side risks through pricing and supply commitments for manufacturers. The EIB’s instrument will entitle MedAccess to receive a counter-guarantee covering up to 30% of losses that MedAccess may incur on volume guarantees for medicines, vaccines, diagnostics, medical devices or nutritional products that address unmet medical needs in Sub-Saharan Africa.
“This agreement will support the local manufacture of essential medicines from vaccines to nutritional products,” said EIB President Nadia Calviño. “Better access to affordable medicines, supporting African and European businesses alike, will make a real difference to families and children across the continent.” EIB Vice-President Karl Nehammer noted the agreement reflects the strong commitment of EIB Global to support projects that address pressing global challenges for Africa.
MedAccess CEO Michael Anderson said innovative finance partnerships can help unlock access to essential health products at scale. “We are grateful to EIB and its partners for their strong support for MedAccess’ mission through this innovative Guarantee Agreement,” he said. “It will enable us to provide more guarantees to manufacturers—both in Africa and beyond—who share our ambition to increase access to effective health products.” Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela added that the Human Development Accelerator is an innovative guarantee mechanism that helps de-risk investments into the health sector.
The Human Development Accelerator, a partnership between the Gates Foundation, European Investment Bank and European Commission, aims to create a better environment for health systems and improved manufacturing capacities for health products and technologies. The guarantee contributes to boosting investors’ confidence in markets in low- and middle-income countries by addressing initial market barriers and mitigating demand-related risks through innovative finance. The EIB and the EC recently announced up to €95 million in blended financing under HDX to help BioNTech advance its mRNA manufacturing site in Rwanda.
