Zambia has signed a credit facility worth US$50 million with the EXIM Bank of India to fund the construction of 650 rural health centres
The health posts will be spread across the country’s 10 provinces and built within the next two years.
Zambia finance and national planning minister Alexander Chikwanda said, “The agreement is part of the action being taken by the government to address the woes confronting our brothers and sisters in outlying areas.
“After two years, significant strides will have been made in curtailing circumstances, which breed compromises in the health delivery system.”
The deal followed President Michael Sata’s recent trip to India, during which he called for urgency in finalising the credit facility, while the construction of the 650 health centres is line with government aspirations to accelerate infrastructure development across the country.
The government’s programme has been designed to speed up access to quality maternal and child healthcare facilities across the country as it attempts to meet of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and other human development targets in the health sector.
Nawa Mutumweno
