Washington, April 23, 2013 – Djibouti and the World Bank signed a US$7.0 million credit agreement for Improving the Health Sector Performance project, designed to improve the coverage and quality of healthcare in Djibouti and reach 300,000 people, mostly women.
The agreement was signed by Ilyas Moussa Dawaleh, Djibouti’s Minister of Finance and Economy, and Inger Andersen, World Bank Vice President for the Middle East and North Africa region.
While Djibouti has made considerable improvements to the delivery of health services, the availability of medicine, and the management capacity of the sector over the past decade, much remains to be done. The country’s health indicators are among the lowest in the world, and Djibouti may not achieve the targets of the health-related Millennium Development Goals.
“The World Bank has been a steady and reliable partner in the health sector in Djibouti” said Ilyas Moussa Dawaleh. “I am pleased that this new project remains focused on the most essential health and health care needs of the mothers and their children and the communicable diseases that pose the most serious threat to the health of our population.”
Using a system of financial rewards, the project is designed to encourage healthcare providers and their support staff in delivering both more and better services to communities. The expected increase in performance will improve the quality and quantity of services provided to pregnant women, infants and children, and to programs focused on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria prevention and treatment.
“This project has drawn on lessons learned from previous World Bank-financed health projects and will be balanced with what other development partners are doing in support of the government’s efforts,” said Inger Andersen. “It will assist Djibouti in its efforts to deliver better maternal and child healthcare services and improved communicable disease control programs.”
This project is financed by the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) which was established in 1960 to help the world’s poorest countries by providing interest-free loans (called ‘credits’) and grants that fund projects to boost economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve poor people’s lives. IDA is one of the largest sources of assistance for the world’s 81 poorest countries. Resources from IDA bring positive change to 2.5 billion people living on less than $2 a day. Since 1960 IDA has supported development work in 108 countries. Annual commitments have increased steadily and averaged around $15 billion over the last 3 years.
