Program will boost the coverage, efficiency and quality of care provided by the National Health System, benefiting 70 percent of the population
Honduras will improve the efficiency of public spending in the health care system and the development of its legal, regulatory and operational framework with the help of a $50 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
One of the goals of the project is to strengthen the system's decentralized management model by expanding health care coverage, offering broader services in areas including those for expectant mothers, delivery-room care, postpartum needs and new-born babies.
The reform financed by the IDB will benefit more than 70 percent of the country’s population, since the network run by the Health Secretariat covers 60 percent and the Honduran Social Security Institute another 17 percent.
The municipalities that will take priority as coverage with the decentralized model spreads will include communities in which so-called Vida Mejor (Better Life) vouchers are distributed so as to ensure joint responsibility in conditional monetary transfers for the purpose of providing health care.
The $50 million IDB loan is composed of $30 million from the Ordinary Capital fund and $20 million from the Concessional Ordinary Capital fund. The former has a repayment period of 20 years, a grace period of 5.5 years and an interest rate based on LIBOR. The financing from the Concessional Ordinary Capital fund will be amortized over 40 years, a grace period of 40 years and an interest rate of 0.25 percent. The executing agency will be the Honduran Finance Secretariat.
About the IDB
The Inter-American Development Bank is devoted to improving lives. Established in 1959, the IDB is a leading source of long-term financing for economic, social and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB also conducts cutting-edge research and provides policy advice, technical assistance and training to public and private sector clients throughout the region.