Benin Republic Obtains 116 billion CFA francs From The World Bank

By Metohuey Michael Adoglo

The World Bank has granted Benin Republic 116 billion CFA francs in financing to improve the quality of and access to essential health services.

The World Bank has approved 187 million dollars in financing, or about 116.4 billion CFA francs, from the International Development Association (IDA) for Benin.

This support will help improve the quality of and access to primary health care services and strengthen the country’s capacity to respond to public health emergencies, according to a World Bank press release dated April 27 in Washington, D.C., which reached our editorial office.

The funding is intended for the Performance-Based Health System Strengthening (PforR) program in Benin.

“Despite efforts made in recent years, Benin’s health system still faces obstacles in providing quality services at all levels, including maternal and child health services,” said Atou Seck, World Bank operations Manager for Benin, quoted in the release.

Through the project, some 9 million people will have access to essential health services and more than 4 million children will have access to basic nutrition services. More than 2.8 million children will be immunized and more than 2 million assisted deliveries will be performed by skilled health personnel.

The project will also help improve Benin’s ability to conduct better disease surveillance, prepare for a rapid and effective response to public health emergencies. “Properly trained staff and equipped facilities will enable standardized, quality basic services to close the current gap between adequate access to services and positive maternal, newborn, and child health outcomes,” Mr. Seck hopes, justifying the relevance of the new project.

Aligned with the government’s action program (2021-2026), the project will help consolidate the gains of the health system performance project (2010-2017) deployed in eight health zones, which significantly improved the utilization of maternal and child health services, the quality of care, and the institutional capacity of the Ministry of Health.

The new project will again focus on reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, adolescent, and nutritional health services.