IDB Approves $200 Million Loan to Bolster Argentina's Healthcare System

The Board of Executive Directors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has authorized a $200 million loan to enhance Argentina's healthcare system. This financing is the first individual operation of a conditional credit line for investment projects (CCLIP) totaling $600 million.

As a result of the pandemic, emergency healthcare has displaced, limited, and postponed preventive care and treatment for many patients with chronic diseases. In addition, a sizable portion of the population does not generally seek preventive medical care to receive timely assessments of their risk levels.

This first individual operation aims to reduce premature mortality and close the gaps in access to health services between Argentina’s provinces. To achieve its goal, the initiative will increase effective access to diagnostic and care services for the population relying solely on public healthcare coverage.

Among other objectives, this initiative aims to increase cervical cancer screenings for women with public coverage only and increase human papillomavirus vaccination rates for 11-year-old girls and boys. Another goal is to better identify and monitor people with high blood pressure, hyperglycemia, or diabetes.

In Argentina, as in the rest of the world, the pandemic has heightened demand for mental health care. This operation will support the implementation of the Community Mental Health Model and increase the number of mental health medications delivered to health facilities.

The IDB loan is designed to benefit those who rely solely on public healthcare coverage (an estimated 20.5 million people in 2022) across all 23 of Argentina’s provinces plus the autonomous city of Buenos Aires.

The $200 million IDB loan has a 3-year disbursement period, a 5.5-year grace period, and an interest rate based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR).