African Development Bank and UNFPA Sign Strategic Partnership to Boost Maternal Health and Human Capital in Africa

The African Development Bank Group and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at increasing the Bank Group’s investments in maternal health, human capital development, and demographic resilience, on the sidelines of the 2026 Annual Meetings.

African Development Bank Group President Sidi Ould Tah and UNFPA Executive Director Diene Keita signed the agreement, which seeks to expand opportunities for women and youth as key drivers of economic activity while strengthening health systems across the continent.

The memorandum of understanding, which builds on an earlier agreement signed in 1992, will support the Bank Group’s implementation of the “Four Strategic Priorities,” President Ould Tah’s strategic vision. The third priority focuses on transforming Africa’s youth demographic potential into a demographic dividend.

“Through their renewed partnership, the African Development Bank and the United Nations Population Fund are demonstrating that economic growth and human rights are not opposing forces, but two sides of the same coin,” President Ould Tah said. “By combining the African Development Bank’s expertise with UNFPA’s extensive presence in community health systems, we will be able to scale up interventions aimed at strengthening the protection and health of women,” he added.

Areas of collaboration will include digital training for healthcare professionals, strengthening local supply systems, modernizing health infrastructure to make it more resilient to climate change, and supporting the digitalization of health information systems.

UNFPA, the United Nations agency for sexual and reproductive health, works to uphold the rights and choices of women, girls, and young people in more than 150 countries and territories. The agreement also contributes to the implementation of UNFPA’s 2026–2029 Strategic Plan.

“This renewed partnership reflects our shared commitment to placing maternal health and human capital development at the center of Africa’s economic transformation agenda,” Ms. Keita said.

“Africa has immense opportunities within reach if we make strategic investments in women and youth. Africa’s economic progress is only possible if we prioritize women’s health and address one of the continent’s most urgent development challenges: preventable maternal deaths,” she added.

For more than three decades, the partnership between the African Development Bank Group and UNFPA has helped strengthen health systems and promote data-driven development across Africa. Notable examples of this collaboration include the modernization of demographic data systems during Côte d’Ivoire’s latest census to improve fertility, mortality, and migration projections, as well as expanded access to emergency obstetric and neonatal care in 11 health districts in Cameroon, which increased prenatal care coverage to 90% in targeted areas.

The two institutions have also collaborated to link water, sanitation, and hygiene initiatives with reproductive health and gender issues through behavior-change campaigns in rural areas of Madagascar, among other projects.

The 2026 Annual Meetings are being held in Brazzaville from May 25 to 29, bringing together around 3,000 participants both in person and online under the theme: “Mobilizing Large-Scale Resources for Africa’s Development Financing in a Fragmented World.”