The World Bank Board has approved $50 million financing from the International Development Association (IDA) to improve the quality and utilisation of essential health services in The Gambia.
A statement made available on Sunday stated that the Essential Health Strengthening Project will finance the construction and provision of equipment of a national emergency treatment centre intensive care unit, emergency observation and treatment centre, national public health laboratory and training centre, and national blood transfusion centre.
The project will support the expansion of health facilities nationally to increase the existing coverage of the five rural regions to cover the entire country by including the two western regions.
A recent survey revealed that some health facilities have asbestos roofing sheets, which are leaking and releasing dangerous asbestos fibers into the air, the statement said.
This additional financing will support the safe removal of the damaged asbestos roofs and the renovation of selected facilities.
Since April 2020, the World Bank has allocated nearly $100 million to support the Gambian Government’s long-term efforts toward making a sustained and comprehensive health care delivery system in the country, said Ms. Feyi Boroffice, World Bank Resident Representative for The Gambia.
This additional financing will enable the expansion of performance-based contracting of health facilities to cover the entire country and implementation of the National Health Insurance Bill that was passed by the National Assembly last week.
“These investments are geared towards ensuring that the poor have access to quality health services and, by reducing the maternal mort
