MADRID, Spain - The Government of Spain has officially finalized its contribution to the Salud Mesoamérica 2015 Initiative for an amount of $42 million, to be disbursed between 2012 and 2016. The amount, committed by the Spanish authorities during the launch of the Initiative in Mexico in June 2010 was approved by the Council of Ministers of the Government of Spain in late October 2011, and now the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), as the SM2015 Initiative Executing Agency, shall complete and sign the appropriate contribution agreement.
The Executive Director and Representative of Spain at the IDB, María Pérez-Ribes, highlighted the importance that Spain gives to the Initiative. "This is another example of our strong political and financial commitment to long-term relationships with countries in the region and the Inter-American Development Bank," said Pérez-Ribes stressing that Spain "has been and is a country that has always been very close to Latin America in general and the Mesoamerican countries in particular. With this Initiative, Spain knows that it is participating with the best partners to achieve not only results in the short term, but sustainable benefit for the countries and their people.”
Salud Mesoamérica 2015 Initiative is an innovative public-private partnership which seeks to reduce health equity gaps in Mesoamerica faced by those living in extreme poverty. The Initiative, whose members include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Carlos Slim Health Institute, and the Government of Spain, is designed for a period of five years.