EIB to invest €250m in Bangladesh to expand women’s healthcare

Bangladesh and the European Investment Bank (EIB) plan €250m to expand women’s healthcare for around 47 million women and adolescent girls from 2027 to 2031.

The programme, called the Women’s Health Initiative, aims to improve maternal and newborn healthcare, cervical and breast cancer treatment and emergency obstetric services.

It will also strengthen primary healthcare, district hospitals, patient transfer and referral systems and critical care services, while improving preparedness for future pandemics and other health emergencies.

The initiative was unveiled at a meeting on women’s health and healthcare resilience at the Bangladesh Embassy in Berlin during the World Health Summit 2026.

Health and family welfare minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain and the prime minister’s special adviser on health, Ziauddin Hyder, led the Bangladesh delegation.

Sakhawat said: “The government is working to ensure quality healthcare for all by prioritising disease prevention.

“Partnership with the European Investment Bank and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) will play an important role in achieving this goal.”

Ziauddin said the investment would play an important role in shifting the healthcare system from a focus on treatment towards disease prevention and health promotion.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is working with the Bangladesh government on the €250m investment.

EIB vice-president Marek Mora said investing in women’s health meant investing in stronger families, more resilient communities and sustainable economic development.

UNFPA and its WomenX Collective programme helped develop the initiative and will provide technical assistance during implementation.

UNFPA executive director Diene Keita said the initiative was important in addressing the long-standing funding gap in women’s health.

“It will make it possible to bring lasting improvements in healthcare for millions of women and adolescent girls,” Keita said.

UNFPA is mobilising at least €25m in grant funding to provide technical assistance for the programme.

Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and private-sector partners are also supporting the initiative.

As part of wider health-sector reforms, the Bangladesh government has pledged to gradually increase public health expenditure from 1 per cent to 5 per cent of GDP.

It also plans to recruit 100,000 community health workers, 80 per cent of whom will be women, and 25,000 professional midwives for government healthcare facilities.