PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti (CMC) — The World Bank’s board of directors has approved additional financing of US$20 million for the Strengthening of Primary Health Care and Surveillance in Haiti project (PROSYS), which aims to increase utilisation of primary health care services in selected geographical areas, and strengthen disease surveillance capacity, especially cholera.

“Access to quality healthcare is crucial to mitigating cyclical poverty, enhancing Haiti’s human capital, and helping future generations reach their full potential,” said Laurent Msellati, World Bank Country Manager for Haiti.

“Haiti has been cholera-free for more than three years and thereby successfully eliminated; however, more efforts are necessary in other essential health areas, as fewer than half of all children are fully immunised, and only a third of women deliver at health facilities,”the country manager added.

In the aftermath of August’s 2021 earthquake, the World Bank quickly reallocated US$20 million from the PROSYS Project to cover approximately 65 per cent of the total reconstruction costs in the health sector of US$31 million identified by the Post Disaster Needs Assessment.

Those funds are supporting the rebuilding and rehabilitation of approximately 30 damaged health infrastructure in the three affected departments of Nippes, Sud, and Grand’Anse, directly benefitting more than 650,000 people. The reallocation of funds also provides equipment and supplies to the rehabilitated health facilities and supported the coordination of all stakeholders involved in the reconstruction activities in the sector.