SOFIA, April 7, 2014 – The Bulgarian government appointed the World Bank to provide analytical and advisory services for the health sector, with a focus on health financing. The agreement was signed by the Minister of Health Tanya Andreeva and Markus Repnik, World Bank Country Manager for Bulgaria, Czech Republic, and Slovakia.
Under the agreement, the World Bank will analyze how funding flows through the health system, and the extent to which this is organized in a way that contributes to achieving important goals, such as ensuring access in an efficient and affordable way.
Based on lessons learned from other countries, the review will assess how reforms could help improve these outcomes.
Two aspects will be given specific attention: 1) the hospital payment system which is due for reform and 2) pharmaceutical policies. The entire work will factor in the fiscal outlook of Bulgaria to enhance long term sustainability. Ultimately, the work will support the Government as it prioritizes the ambitious reform program laid out in the National Health Strategy 2014-2020.
“As a knowledge partner to Bulgaria, the World Bank is deepening its engagement with the government to address the challenge of a rapidly aging population, resulting in the steepest decline of the working-age population in the world, and an increased demand of quality health services. We are honored to be appointed to diagnose the health financing and provide options on how to strengthen the health sector to produce better results for the benefit of Bulgarians,” said Markus Repnik, World Bank Country Manager for Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Slovakia.
This is the third service agreement with the Bulgarian government signed within the last two weeks. It is developed under the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of Bulgaria and the World Bank on partnership and support in the implementation of the EU Structural Instruments, signed in 2012. The MoU sets the scene for Bulgaria’s innovative knowledge partnership with the World Bank, as it includes a mechanism that allows the Government to draw on EU Funds to cover the costs of knowledge and advisory services provided from international financial institutions.
