Luanda - The International Finance Corporation (IFC), on Friday in the Province of Luanda guaranteed 72 million US dollars to support the construction and expansion of the Sagrada Esperança Clinic (CSE), run by the Endiama group.
To formalise this fund, CSE and IFC (a member of the World Bank) finalised a financing agreement, which was signed by the clinic's chairman, Rui Pinto, and IFC vice-president, Sérgio Pimenta, who made a two-day visit to Angola.
At that time, Sérgio Pimenta clarified that of the USD 72 million, the IFC will make directly available to the clinic 28.5 million dollars, while the rest of the amount which is 43.5 million will be mobilised from national and international banks.
Speaking to the press, he said that the partnership agreement, which will serve to strengthen the construction and equipping of the CSE, also includes technical assistance from the IFC, with emphasis on projects with the greatest impact on the health sector.
The financial package to be provided directly and mobilised by the commercial bank is a credit that must be repaid over a period of 11 years.
According to the CSE's clinical director, Esmael Tomás, for the funding to be made available, the two institutions had been negotiating for years and it is part of a total of USD 108 million, which is the amount considered to be necessary to cover the expenses of the construction and equipping of the clinic.
He said that this investment will improve the clinic's services, such as intensive care, emergency rooms, operating theatres, outpatient consultations, as well as the construction of a car park and a WasteWater Treatment Plant (WWTP).
The official revealed that the new hospital unit will have the capacity of 140 beds, which will increase the clinic's current inpatient capacity of 250 people.
Esmael Tomás said that without giving a specific date for the start of work on the new hospital, the next step will be to draw up an action plan so that the work can begin in the coming months.
On his turn, the secretary of State for Public Health, Pinto de Sousa, praised the CSE initiative and considered the project of crucial importance for strengthening clinical care for the population.
He said that the expansion of the current clinic is part of the Angolan government's strategy, which is increasingly committed to improving the national health service.
Clínica Sagrada Esperança was created in the 1990s and is one of the largest corporate-run health institutions in Angola, which serves more than a thousand users daily, from companies, state organisations, insurance companies and individuals.
It has a network of 29 health care units, distributed in 16 provinces of the country, with 300 physicians, 400 nurses and 350 health technicians.
Meanwhile, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets.
The institution works in more than 100 countries and uses its capital, technical know-how and influence to create markets and generate opportunities in developing countries.
In the financial year 2022, IFC made available a record of USD 32.8 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, thus boosting the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies struggle with the impacts of worsening global crises.
QCB/NE/MRA/jmc
