WASHINGTON, June 24, 2010 – The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved an International Development Association (IDA) grant of US$20 million equivalent for Chad to support the implementation of the Government of Chad’s Second Population and HIV/AIDS Project for the period 2010-2012. The project seeks to encourage the Chadian population to adopt behaviors which will reduce the risk of HIV infection and too closely spaced and/or unintended pregnancies. The project would thus contribute to progress towards Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4, 5, and 6.
The project has five main components: (i) multi-sectoral activities at the central and local levels of key ministries aimed at controlling HIV/AIDS; (ii) community-based HIV/AIDS interventions through a social fund mechanism (FOSAP); (iii) results-based financing approach to improving maternal and child health outcomes; (iv) support to implementation of the national population policy; and (v) project coordination and monitoring and evaluation (M&E).
Chad has made only modest progress towards health-related MDGs. Maternal, neonatal, and child health indicators are particularly bad for the poorest households. With an under-5 mortality rate estimated at 209 per 1,000 live births, Chad suffers from the third highest level of child mortality in the world. This situation reflects major weaknesses in the health system, including: (i) lack of accountability of providers resulting in high levels of absenteeism and poor motivation to deliver services; (ii) inadequate mechanisms for reaching the poorest patients; and (iii) limited focus on results and an inability to regularly track progress of health service delivery. For these reasons, the project focuses on:(i) expanding the use of mobile teams to reach poor communities with a wide array of health and population activities; (ii) restoring accountability, through the implementation of a pilot Result-Based Financing mechanism; and (iii) strengthening M&E through independent household and health facility surveys.
“We are pleased to see that a great portion of the funding will go to service delivery, thus directly contributing to improve the health of thousands of Chadians in the years to come,” said Boubou Cissé, Task Team Leader for the Project. “This project will help Chad accelerate the pace to reach the health Millennium Development Goals number 4 and 5, the two critical goals related with reducing child and maternal mortality, and to combat malaria, HIV/AIDS.”
