African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a US$24mn loan to finance the provision of safe water supply to 36 districts in Zambia
p>African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a US$24mn loan to finance the provision of safe water supply to 36 districts in Zambia
The loan will also be used to improve the school enrolment and retention of adolescent girls. The financing, which is under Zambia’s fourth poverty reduction budget support programme, will also provide full immunisation to children aged below 12 months in 20 of the country’s districts. The programme also aims to improve the efficiency and transparency of public finance management, increase the government’s revenue base to finance pro-poor expenditures and improve access to water and health services in rural area.
“Our goal is to create transparent, efficient and equitable mechanisms to improve public expenditure management and provide better service delivery in the poorest districts of Zambia,” said AfDB’s director for social and human development, Agnes Soucat.
This financing is part of the US$159mn budget support operation financed by the World Bank (US$30mn loan), the European Commission (US$43.5mn grant), the UK’s Department for International Development (US$41.6mn grant), Germany (US$13.6mn grant) and Finland (US$6.8mn grant).
