Uzbekistan, Tashkent, July 20 / Trend D.Azizov /
The World Bank and the Uzbek government signed a loan agreement on additional financing of the public health modernization system to the amount of $ 93 million, WB's Tashkent office told Trend on Friday.
The WB Board of Directors approved the additional financing in March 2013. The funds will be allocated from the concessional resources of the International Development Association (IDA is included in WB's structure) within the third project for public health improvement co-financed by WB.
The World Bank provided Uzbekistan with $93 million to implement the project in September 2011. The funds were also allocated from the IDA concessional funds for 35 years, including a10 year grace period.
It is planned to increase the quality and effectiveness of medical services in the regions of the country, to strengthen the financing of a health system and to reform the management.
According to a WB representative, the additional funds are allocated to expand the public health services, in particular, for improvement of the preliminary medical-sanitary aid and for increasing its quality. Moreover, institutional strengthening will be achieved for the prophylactic measures in non-communicable diseases and their control.
The bank provided Uzbekistan with a soft loan of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) to the amount of $30 million for the project worth $76 million to develop the primary element of health care in rural areas of Ferghana, Syr Darya, Navoi, Khorezm and Karakalpakstan in 1999. In October 2004, Uzbekistan was provided with a $39.5 million interest-free credit allocated from the IDA resources, as well as a $0.5 million grant to implement the program for prophylactic control of disease - a similar project worth $150 million in other provinces of the republic.
Uzbekistan became a WB member in 1992.
WB intends to provide Uzbekistan with funds to implement 15 investment projects in the sphere of energy, transport, melioration, petrochemistry, textile industry, processing of agricultural products and increasing the quality of medical services in 2012-2015 in accordance with the WB partnership strategy with Uzbekistan.