- Japan contributes US$10 million to support the IATP.
- Participants called for strong national ownership, partner alignment, and clear implementation discipline.
- Improved air connectivity can strengthen supply chains, including for medicines, vaccines, medical equipment, and healthcare personnel.
- Governors and partners praised the Bank’s approach of turning continental priorities into bankable and deployable platforms.
Governors of the African Development Bank Group (Bank Group) (www.AfDB.org), technical and financial partners, private sector representatives, philanthropic foundations, and investors expressed strong support for the Bank Group’s new platform solutions approach aimed at accelerating Africa’s transformation in the health and aviation sectors.
On the sidelines of its 2026 Annual Meetings, held on May 28 in Brazzaville, the Bank Group presented two concrete applications of this approach to key stakeholders: the Integrated Aviation Transformation Program (IATP) and the African Medical Equipment and Medicines Facility (AMEF), both designed to mobilise greater capital, reduce risks, and address major continental challenges.
The meeting, held under the theme “Platform Solutions for Africa’s Transformation: De-risking Aviation and Health Systems through Innovative Financing,” enabled participants to appreciate the Bank Group’s approach, which reflects the evolving role of multilateral development banks: moving from project-by-project financing to creating platforms capable of bringing together partners, attracting capital, and delivering solutions at the scale, to the continent’s challenges.
The Bank presented the IATP and AMEF not only as two complementary initiatives but, more importantly, as two applications of the same financial architecture: one aimed at strengthening air connectivity, logistics chains, and regional integration; the other focused on securing access to essential medicines, vaccines, and medical equipment.
“We need high-quality medicines that meet international standards. Africa also needs airlines capable of connecting the entire continent, strengthening regional integration, and supporting the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA),” said Dr Sidi Ould Tah, President of the Bank Group, as he opened the discussions.
In the aviation sector, the IATP seeks to support fleet modernisation, infrastructure upgrades, logistics improvements, and the integration of Africa’s air transport market. The Bank Group aims to mobilise US$7 billion over the next five years to help unlock the potential of African aviation, in partnership with African governments, the African Union, development partners, the private sector, banks and investors, aircraft manufacturers, leasing companies, airlines, and others.
In the health sector, the AMEF aims to support more stable and better-coordinated procurement mechanisms to improve sustainable access to quality health products.
According to Ousmane Fall, Director of the Private Sector Department at the African Development Bank, Africa manufactures only 1% of the medicines it needs and approximately 0.5% of its vaccines. Only 40% of essential medicines are available on time to populations, while access delays can range from three to nine months.
In the aviation sector, Mike Salawou, Director of the Infrastructure and Urban Development Department, noted that only 19% of flights in Africa are operated by African regional or national airlines, and the economic losses linked to deficiencies in air transport are estimated at between US$50 billion and US$100 billion annually.
The platform proposed by the Bank Group is based on collaboration among governments, development finance institutions, philanthropic partners, suppliers, and investors to mobilise appropriate financing, strengthen transparency, and improve the financial sustainability of procurement systems.
High-Level Support to Move from Design to Implementation
Participants’ interventions converged around a clear message: both platforms must now move toward implementation, supported by strong national ownership, aligned partners, and regular monitoring of results.
Several speakers emphasised that the success of both platforms would depend on maintaining a broad coalition of governments, multilateral development banks, institutional investors, philanthropic foundations, and private sector actors around shared and measurable objectives.
“Risk mitigation is the greatest challenge,” stressed Abdourahmane Sarr, Senegal’s Minister of Economy, Planning and Cooperation. “This is where the African Development Bank Group can play a catalytic role by leveraging its AAA credit rating.”
Dr. Natu El Maamry Mwamba, Alternate Governor for Tanzania and Permanent Secretary to the Treasury, praised the financing model proposed for both initiatives, recalling that a Bank guarantee had enabled her country to mobilise, within a few months, half of the US$1.2 billion required for its standard-gauge railway project.
“Cameroon supports these two initiatives, which will address critical needs for our populations and strengthen the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area,” said Alamine Ousmane Mey, Cameroon’s Minister of Economy, Planning and Regional Development.
Japan Pledges US$10 Million for the IATP
Participants emphasised the importance of close coordination among stakeholders to ensure tangible, measurable, and visible results for African populations.
Welcoming the Bank Group’s approach, Japan announced a US$10 million contribution to the Risk-Sharing Facility of the Integrated Aviation Transformation Program (IATP) to help reduce financing risks associated with fleet acquisition by African airlines. This announcement represents an important signal of confidence from partners in the ambition to modernise African air transport, strengthen regional connectivity, and support the continent’s economic integration. According to Mr. Salawou, the contribution is expected to support the platform’s initial implementation phase and enhance its ability to mobilise additional financing.
“This is about building a continental connectivity platform capable of linking markets, strengthening regional value chains, and supporting the implementation of the AfCFTA. In a context marked by growing health, climate, and geopolitical risks, connectivity is also becoming a resilience issue. Airplanes transport passengers, as well as medicines, vaccines, strategic equipment, and create economic opportunities. By mobilising more capital, reducing risks, and strengthening partnerships, the IATP helps transform aviation into a driver of integration, competitiveness, and prosperity for Africa,” he added.
Ismael Nabé, Guinea’s Minister and Governor of the Bank, highlighted the importance of pooling efforts to avoid fragmentation that limits the emergence of major African airlines. Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, called for further development of leasing solutions in the aviation sector and announced the signing of the first National Compact under the Integrated Aviation Transformation Program, with the Bank.
Beyond aviation and health, discussions highlighted the potential of platform solutions as a new instrument for the continent’s transformation.
“People need rapid access to medicines, vaccines, essential goods, and economic opportunities. This requires efficient logistics chains, effective connectivity infrastructure, and financing mechanisms capable of operating at the scale of the continent’s challenges. Platform solutions represent an important evolution in the way we approach development: they make it possible to transform African priorities into bankable, deployable, and measurable programs while strengthening regional integration, resilience, and Africa’s ability to shape its own future,” emphasised Dr Ould Tah.
This approach is fully aligned with the vision of strengthening the institution’s role as a platform for mobilising capital for Africa, and contributing to the emergence of a New African Financial Architecture for Development, capable of supporting more integrated, resilient, and inclusive growth, he said.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).
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Romaric Ollo Hien
Communication and External Relations Department
media@afdb.org
