Announcement of Colombia Municipal Health Services Project on June 10, 1993

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE iWorld Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.* Telephone: (202) 477-1234 BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 93/103 Contact: Ciro Gamarra Tel: (202) 473-8721 COLOMBIA: MUNICIPAL HEALTH SERVICES PROJECT h following is information about a project announced in the latest issue of World Bank News. DATE: June 10, 1993 WORLD BANK GROUP SUPPORT: World Bank loan: $50 million. The World Bank loan is for 17 years, including five years of grace, with a variable interest rate, currently 7.43 percent, linked to the cost of the Bank's borrowings. It also carries an annual commitment charge of 0.25 percent on the undisbursed balance. TOTAL COST: $83.1 million OTHER PROPOSED FINANCING: Government of Colombia, $8.7 million; Municipalities, $24.4 million IMPLEMENTING AGENCY: Ministry of Health ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: 2001 PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The objectives of the Municipal Health Services Project are to (a) enhance the municipal capacities, in nine areas (encompassing 220 munici- palities), to plan and manage provision of primary health care; (b) improve the quality, efficiency, and coverage of primary health services in those municipali- ties; and (c) strengthen key policy measures and evaluation activities designed to support development of effective primary health care. The project includes three components. The first component, Institufional Development, includes (a) introduc- tion of a municipal health management information system to support planning and monitoring of primary health care services; and (b) provision of related training and technical support for municipal administrative authorities, municipal health administrators, and community representatives. The second component, Service Development, includes (a) implementation of municipal subprojects, to be co- financed by the municipalities and the central government, to support a basic package of primary health care services by providing medical supplies and equip- ment, and financing rehabilitation, expansion, construction, and furnishing of selected primary health care facilities; and (b) provision of related training and technical support for approximately 13,000 municipal health practitioners in the project area. The third component, Policy Development, includes (a) support for the design and implementation of selected policy measures for introducing system- atic pricing and cost-recovery for primary health services in the public system and for quality control for pri#ary health care, and for strengthening employment systems for public and health personnel; and (b) provision of an impact evaluation for the project.