The World Bank (WB) will offer 17 million dollars to Moldova for a better access of Moldovans to health and social services. Ala Panzari, acting manager of the WB country Office, and Finance Minister Mihai Pop signed today the loan agreement for the Health Services and Social Assistance Project for Moldova. According to Ala Panzari, the WB project will assist the Government to achieve middle- and long-term major objectives: social-oriented sustainable development; poverty reduction and enhancement of human resources, as outlined in the Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (EGPRSP). The project will be executed over a four-year period, from September 2007 to February 2011. The funds will be released in August 2007 and will be offered under IDA (International Development Association) terms. IDA focuses on world’s poorest countries, which have a per person income of less than $885 annually. IDA credits are interest-free, repayable in 40 years, and include a grace period of 10 years. $12 million of the total funds offered will be used by the Ministry of Health to restore Health Centres, offices for family doctors in the countryside, and to endow them with equipment. In addition, a part of the funds will be directed at restoring the National Clinical Hospital and at endowing it with the most advanced medical equipment, Health Minister Ion Ababii said. In his words, the condition of those 381 health centres in the country is currently assessed, so that the exact number of centres to benefit from restoration will be known when the funds are available. The Minister of Social Protection, Family and Child, Galina Balmos said that $5 million will be used by the ministry to improve the social assistance system. In her words, the social assistance will be provided with the appropriate equipment, and there will be produced software and databases to assist them. The project is jointly supported by other donors, including the European Union, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), the Council of Europe Development Bank, and relevant UN agencies.