Ethiopia Ministry of Finance and the World Bank have signed two Financing Agreements amounting to a total of $745 million, approximately 39.8 billion ETB, both in the form of grants.
The first Grant Agreement amounting to 445 million US dollars will finance to implement/ Program for Results (hybrid) for Strengthening Primary Health Care Services. And the second 300 million US Dollars Grant Agreement will be used for the implementation of the Flood Management Project.
The Program for Results (hybrid) for Strengthening Primary Health Care Services will be used to improve access to and equitable provision of high-quality primary health care services and to further strengthen the health system.
The resource for Flood Management Project will be used to strengthen Ethiopia’s institutional capacity for disaster risk management, and flood risk management in selected basins. The Agreements were signed by H.E. Mr. Ahmed Shide, Minister, Ministry of Finance, and Mr. Ousmane Dione, Country Director for Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, and South Sudan, the World Bank, representing the Government of Ethiopia and the World Bank, respectively.
Recently, The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund which is the concessional lending arm of the African Development Bank Group also approved a $4.3 million grant to fund capacity building within Ethiopia’s finance ministry and related government departments, to enable the country to tackle declining growth and other economic challenges.
Ethiopia has recorded robust economic growth over the last decade. However, this expansion is at risk due to emerging macroeconomic challenges. The gross domestic product grew at an average of 7.8% annually between 2016-2021, compared to the average of 10.2% annually recorded between 2011 and 2015. The Covid-19 pandemic, conflict, and a desert locust invasion further slowed growth from 8.2% in 2019/20 to 6.3% in 2020/21. In addition, the Russia-Ukraine war and associated sanctions have had adverse impacts, resulting in higher prices for fuel, wheat, and cooking oil.
Ethiopia gets $745 million from World Bank
