Suriname to improve health services’ delivery with IDB support

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a $20 million loan which will improve access to high-quality, well-integrated primary care services as well as enhance the effectiveness of Suriname’s health sector to address priority epidemiological challenges throughout the country.

Suriname is currently in the advanced stages of an epidemiological transition, marked by a sharp rise in the prevalence of Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in the general population, while high rates of Communicable Diseases (CDs) persist in specific population subgroups. In response to these dual health sector challenges, Suriname’s health authorities will use the IDB loan funding to reorient and strengthen their approach towards a renewed primary health care system that can offer integrated and comprehensive care for both NCDs and CDs.

In a context of fiscal constraints, Suriname’s Government is applying cost-effective strategies to manage its complex epidemiologic profile and to establish a sustainable path toward improving its health system. To reduce the rate of NCD’s, and to address remaining pockets of high prevalence of CD’s, Suriname’s health sector strategy will focus on strengthening primary health care services that offer comprehensive care. Suriname’s Ministry of Health will enhance its core policy and technical functions by implementing information technologies and digital solutions on both the supply and demand side of Suriname’s health care marketplace..

The Health Service Improvement Project in Suriname, will consist of three main components: (1) institutional strengthening of Suriname’s Ministry of Health to enhance evidence-based policy-making for the health sector; (2) expansion of the Chronic Care Model (CCM) within primary care so as to improve the accessibility of clinical pathways for non-communicable diseases; and (3) increased access to priority health services for at-risk populations affected by communicable diseases like malaria and HIV.

The program’s total amount is $20.0 million financed with resources from the IDB’s Ordinary Capital, with a six-year disbursement period and a LIBOR-based interest rate.

Original source: IDB
Published on 29 August 2018