Announcement of Malawi to Borrow Eleven Million Eight Hundred Thousand US Dollars from IDA for Health and Fertilizer Projects on April 28, 1983

FOR IMMtDIA TE RELEASE •World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.• Telephone: (202) 477-1234 IDA NEWS RELEASE NO. 83/68 Contact: Pushpa Schwartz April 28, 1983 (202) 477-3294 MALAWI TO BORROW $11.8 MILLION FROM IDA FOR HEALTH AND FERTILIZER PROJECTS A health project and a fertilizer project in Malawi will benefit from credits of SDR 6.3 million ($6.8 million) and SDR 4.6 million ($5 million), respectively, from the International Development Association (IDA). IDA is the World Bank I s affiliate for concessionary 1ending. The IDA credits are for 50 years, including 10 years of grace; they carry no interest but have a small annual service charge (0.5% on the undisbursed balances of the credit and 0.75% on the disbursed balances). Health Project Malawi's Ministry of Health will produce a comprehensive national • health plan for 1985-95 with the support of IDA and three U.N. agencies. The plan will help set the stage for future reductions in mortality and fertility, as well as provide the basis for mobilizing investments from both local and foreign sources. In addition, the project will develop the first phase of a national primary health care program covering some 150 villages in Mwanza, Dowa, and Mzimba districts. Rural health facilities will be upgraded and provided with equipment and training. Grants totaling $600,000 from the United Nations Development Programme, World Health Organization, and United Nations Children's Fund will contribute to the primary health care program, which is designed to involve communities in solving their health programs. Medicines will be available at lower cost as a result of an improved system for procuring and distributing pharmaceuticals. The buildings of a pharmaceutical depot at Blantyre will be rehabilitated. Regional depots of medical supplies will be equipped with a manufacturing pharmacy to compound commonly used tinctures, mixtures, and ointments. An old hospital in Lilongwe, the capital, will be rehabilitated and a new wing built for a laboratory to collect and analyze epidemiological data. • •• I NOTE: IDA credits are denominated in SDRs {Special Drawing Rights), which are valued on the basis of a "basket" of currencies. • The U.S. dollar equivalent of the SOR amount of the IDA credit reflects the exchange rates existing at the time of the negotia- tion of the credit.  - 2 - A study of infant and child mortality in Malawi will be carried out. The infant mortality rate in the country is 190 per 1000 children--one of the • highest in the world. Child spacing services and counselling will be integrated into the maternal and child health program. Antenatal facilities at 16 hospitals will be rehabilitated and COf1'111odity support, equipment, and technical assistance provided. Smallholder Fertilizer Project A revolving fund to finance the import of fertilizer will be established in the Reserve Bank of Malawi. The system for procurement and distribution of fertilizers by the Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (ADMARC) will be improved. By ensuring adequate and timely supply of fertilizers to smallholders, the country's goal of producing more food and agricultural exports will be supported. About 400,000 farm families throughout Malawi, typically with 2.5 hectares (ha) of land, are expected to benefit from the availability of fertilizer through the establishment of the new 'fund. It is estimated that fertilizer imports will benefit about 330,000 ha of maize, 47,000 ha of tobacco, and 21,000 ha of rice annually by the end of the four-year project period. The Republic of Malawi and the ADMARC will provide $2.7 million and $12 million, ~espectively. The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will contribute $10.3 million toward project costs. - 0 - • •