Cambodia gets $113 million World Bank healthcare financing

Cambodia gets $113 million World Bank healthcare financing

The World Bank approved $113 million in new financing to improve access to quality health care in Cambodia.

The funding will “particularly benefit poor and vulnerable people and will support effective responses to health crises,” the World Bank said in a release.

The financing is the second phase of the Health Equity and Quality Improvement Project (HEQIP-2) which is aimed at advancing universal health coverage in the country. The first phase ran from 2016 to 2022.

As an important step toward the goal of achieving universal health coverage by 2030, Cambodia is creating a universal health insurance structure, the release said, adding, “The new financing will expand support for the Health Equity Fund to cover health services costs for the poor and improve the use of services by increasing awareness, reducing barriers, and enhancing the health information system. The project will support the rollout of national accreditation standards, expand service delivery grants, and implement performance-based financing. The project also aims to scale up non-communicable disease services for public health facilities across the country.”

Maryam Salim, Country Manager for Cambodia, World Bank, said, “While Cambodia has made progress in delivering health care to its people, more equitable access to quality health care remains an important goal. This project will help Cambodia achieve that objective by expanding access for the poor and vulnerable.”

The new funding represents a long-standing partnership among partners and includes a $55 million credit from the World Bank’s International Development Association and grants totalling $58 million from Australia, the German Development Bank, South Korea, and the Global Financing Facility.

Cambodia will provide $186 million in counterpart financing, the release added. Khmer Times