Tunis, 24 January 2006 - The African
Development Bank (AfDB) Group and the government of Malawi have signed
a 15-million (about 21.44 million US dollars) grant agreement to finance
programs in the country's health sector.
The Bank's acting Vice President in
charge of West and Central Operations, Mr. Mohammed Gharbi and Malawi's
Ambassador to Egypt, Mr. Yahaya M'Madi, signed the agreement in Tunis on
Monday.
The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional window of the AfDB approved the grant in November 2005, to help the county finance the programme.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Gharbi said the programme is intended to accelerate the reduction of maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity in Malawi. "The Bank is committed to harmonizing most of the activities of this programme with (the) Government and other development partners' support to the health sector."
In his statement, the Malawian envoy said the agreement marked yet another milestone in the relations between the Bank and his country, adding: "We do not take this gesture for granted. Government of the Republic of Malawi would, therefore, like to assure you that this assistance will be used for the intended purpose and will go a long way in addressing the identified problems".
The objective of the programme is to establish, through a Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) arrangement involving five other international development agencies, an effective and efficient health care delivery system that is responsive to the needs of the people, especially vulnerable groups such as the poor, women and children.
The ADF Support will finance strategies to accelerate reduction of maternal and infant mortality through the following programmes:
- Human Resources
- Pharmaceutical and Medical Supplies
- Essential Basic Equipment
- Facilities Development
- Routine Operations at Service Delivery Level
- Central Operations, Policy and Systems Development
The programme is complementary to the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy, which gives utmost attention to the needs of the poor.
The total cost of financing the Programme of Work (2004 - 2010) for the SWAp is USD 735.00 million.
The Bank Group operations in Malawi started in 1969. To date, the Group's cumulative commitment in the country stands at 574 million UA (US$ 820.4 million) in 74 operations.
UA1 = US$ 1.42927 as at 01/01/06
CONTACT: Felix Njoku - Tel.: +216 71 10 26 12 - E-mail: f.njoku@afdb.org