Announcement of Strengthening Health Service Delivery in Mozambique with Forty-Four Million Six Hundred Thousand US Dollars Credit on April 16, 2009

Strengthening Health Service Delivery in Mozambique with US$44.6 Million Credit Contacts: In Washington DC: Rachel McColgan-Arnold Tel: (202) 458 5299 rmccolgan@worldbank.org In Maputo: Rafael Saute Tel: + 258 21 48 23 24 rsaute@worldbank.org WASHINGTON, April 16, 2009 -- The World Bank Board of Executive Directors today approved an International Development Association (IDA) credit* of US$44.6 million equivalent for Mozambique to support the implementation of the Government of Mozambique’s Health Service Delivery Project (HSDP) for the period 2009-2014. The HSDP seeks to improve access to and delivery of health services, and thereby help reduce the incidence of malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and child and maternal mortality. The project has four components to: (i) improve health service delivery in the three northern provinces of Cabo-Delgado, Niassa, and Nampula (US$42.6 million); (ii) boost the national malaria control program (US$13.5 million); (iii) prepare the national health sector investment plan (US$ 0.5 million); and (iv) build capacity and cover operating costs (US$15.8 million). The project’s total cost is estimated at US$72.4 million of which US$44.6 million will be from IDA; US$15.6 million from the Canadian International Development Agency; US$7.9 million from the Russian Federation; and US$4.3 million from the Swiss Development Cooperation. Through these components, the project will finance the construction of 20-25 health centers in the three northern provinces. In addition, it will finance the construction of houses for health staff and bore holes for water and solar panels to generate electricity for health centers and staff residences. The project will also include health promotion interventions such as communication campaigns for behavior change, nutrition programs, and basic hygiene. Priority disease control programs for tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV/AIDS will be implemented through community-based outreach and interventions. To ensure that an adequate and balanced number of health teams are deployed in various programs, the HSDP supports additional training for health workers and nurses, and capacity building at the local and national levels, as well as technical assistance to the Ministry of Health in preparing a ten year sector investment plan, among many other planned activities. “We are pleased to see that a great portion of the funding will go to service delivery, thus directly contributing to improve the health of millions of Mozambicans in the years to come. This project will help Mozambique accelerate the pace to reach the health Millennium Development Goals number 4 and 5, the two critical goals related with reducing child and maternal mortality, and to combat malaria, HIV/AIDS, and other diseases.” Said, Michael Baxter, Country Director for Mozambique, Angola, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. “The Mozambique health system has shown significant improvements over the last decade as a result of economic growth and investments in the sector. But Mozambique still faces major challenges especially to reduce child and under-five mortality rates that are above the average for Sub- Saharan Africa. And, while maternal mortality appears to have decreased significantly it also remains high. Sadly, malaria is the primary cause death among children. Finally, Mozambique continues to face a severe HIV/AIDS epidemic, with a high prevalence rate of 16 percent, making it among the top ten most affected countries in the world. Taken together, these health challenges have serious implications on overall economic and social development.” Said Jean J. De St Antoine, World Bank Task Team Leader for the project. The project sets to tackle these problems and will involve close coordination among the development partners. The project’s objectives are consistent with the second pillar of the World Bank Partnership Strategy for Mozambique (2008-11), specifically to promote equitable access to public services, which supports the Government’s own poverty reduction strategy (PARPA II). For more on this project and World Bank work in Mozambique, please visit : www.worldbank.org/mz A hardcopy of the project document can also be obtained by contacting: World Bank Office Avenue Kenneth Kaunda, 1224 Maputo, Moçambique Tel: (258) 21 482 300 Fax: (258) 21 492 893 * The credit is provided on current IDA terms (as of July 2008). These include a service charge of 0.75 percent for disbursed and outstanding credit balance per annum over a 40 year period of maturity, which includes a 10-year grace period. IDA funds come from World Bank Group revenues and contributions by shareholding governments, many of which also have development assistance programs in Mozambique.