WB approves $3.6-M grant for maternal health services in E. Visayas

MANILA, Philippines—The World Bank has approved, on behalf of a global trust fund, a grant of $3.6 million to increase access to affordable maternal health services for low-income families living in the Eastern Visayas region.

In a statement, the World Bank said the grant will benefit a total of 700,000 Filipinos in the provinces of Leyte, Southern Leyte, Samar, Northern Samar and Eastern Samar.

The World Bank acts as administrator for the Global Partnership on Output-Based Aid. The project will be implemented over a 4-year period by Population Services Pilipinas Inc.

Marie Stopes International Australia, established providers of maternal and child health care in the Philippines since 1990, will help PSPI with the implementation.

About 145,000 poor families are expected to benefit through subsidized access to services including birth delivery and pre- and post-natal care. The scheme supports the new government’s reform agenda to achieve universal access to health care, said Motoo Konishi, World Bank Country Director for the Philippines. “The project also makes access to quality health services affordable through the subsidized voucher component and more inclusive by explicitly targeting the poor.”