The European Investment Bank (EIB Global) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have formally launched a €10 million grant support to boost health resilience across Lebanon, including combating medicine scarcity and fragmented laboratory services.

The cooperation was signed at the EIB Forum in Luxembourg by WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and EIB Vice President Thomas Östros and will support the re-establishment of the Central Public Health Laboratory in Lebanon crucial for enhancing the detection capacity for emerging infectious diseases. It will test for emergency infectious diseases, promptly confirming potential pathogens to prevent outbreaks, which will be especially relevant among vulnerable displaced populations and refugees. The CPHL will also test all blood donations to ensure safe transfusions.

Today’s agreement will also unlock provision of essential medicines and expert support to primary healthcare centres across Lebanon. This will enable public healthcare centres to restore services, including reproductive health and prevention of gender-based violence, addressing specific gender gaps in services.