Rwanda: Health Sector Gets $12 Million Boost

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The New Times (Kigali)

27 June 2008
Posted to the web 27 June 2008

Moses Gahigi And Paul Karangwa
Nyarugenge

eThe World Bank has donated $12 million (approximately Frw6.4 billion) to the country's health sector in a bid to improve health programmes at all levels.

This was during a multinational five-day meeting, organised for beneficiaries of World Bank donations on health which started on Tuesday at Hotel des Mille Collines.

"We hope that with this fund, the country will do much better in uplifting the health standards of the local population," Dr. Agnès Scoucat, the World Bank representative to Africa and advisor on health and nutrition in Africa, said.

Dr. Scoucat pointed out that in 2000, Rwanda did not have enough foreign funding, but it managed to fight malaria, HIV/Aids and other epidemics.

The meeting attracted representatives from countries like Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Ethiopia, Uganda and Afghanistan, whose health sectors benefit from the World Bank funding.

This was intended to bring all recipients together, to share views and compare their progress and plot for the future. It was also aimed at having the current recipient countries show how they have used their funds in comparison with the expected results.

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In the same workshop, Rwanda was pointed out to be in a better position and was hailed for the even distribution of the World Bank funds to the sector and other programmes like the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS) and the vision 2020.

Dr. Agnès Scoucat urged other countries to emulate Rwanda's efforts to fight poverty.

"Rwanda's progressive stand was seen to be in line with the World Bank's principle of being result-based, which is expected of any of the programmes they fund," she added.

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