WASHINGTON, June 3, 2025 - The World Bank has approved $50 million in financing to support Mauritania in improving public spending efficiency and strengthening service delivery in social sectors. This innovative operation combines $42 million in Program-for-Results financing with $8 million in Investment Project Financing.
The Mauritania Public Spending Efficiency (PSE) operation supports the government's third phase of the Public Financial Management Strategy 2025-2030, aimed at enhancing fiscal space and reallocating resources to high-impact areas for better public service delivery in health, education, and social protection. The program accompanies Mauritania's transition to program-based budgeting, in line with the 2018 Organic Law on Finance Laws.
"Mauritania is undertaking important public financial management reforms that will strengthen how the government allocates and manages resources. This operation represents a significant step forward in the country's efforts toward more efficient and accountable public spending, ensuring that resources deliver maximum impact for the Mauritanian people, particularly in health, education, and social protection," said Ibou Diouf, World Bank Country Manager for Mauritania.
This support comes through an innovative financing approach specifically designed to strengthen public financial management systems.
"This is Mauritania's first Program-for-Results operation, where disbursements are tied directly to achieving measurable development outcomes. This approach is particularly effective as it strengthens government systems while creating incentives for performance," said Gael Raballand, Practice Manager for Governance Global Practice in Western and Central Africa.
The financing will also support the deployment of the electronic government procurement (e-GP) system, developed under the Digital Transformation for Africa Program, contributing to the country's environmental objectives by significantly reducing paper use and travel requirements.
"The operation supports the government's efforts to streamline budget execution and procurement processes. These reforms are expected to reduce procurement processing times, enable ministries to access their full annual budgets at the start of the fiscal year, and improve payment timelines to suppliers,” said Fatou Mbacké Dieng, Senior Governance Specialist and Task Team Leader.
In the health sector, the program supports national efforts to improve vaccination coverage, particularly for measles and rubella vaccines, contributing to strengthening the public health system. The operation will help equip health centers with necessary equipment and ensure compliance with national standards.
The program introduces climate-smart criteria into public investment project selection processes, ensuring that investments contribute to sustainable development goals while building resilience against climate-related risks.
