- The EIB-managed Eastern Partnership Technical Assistance Trust Fund (EPTATF) and Swedfund are jointly providing €1.5 million to prepare the feasibility studies for the construction of a new regional hospital in the city of Cahul, Moldova.
- The Government of the Republic of Moldova plans to build a modern hospital in Cahul to improve healthcare for more than 120 000 people living in the southern region of the country.
- Cahul’s regional hospital is a vital part of the Government’s plans to modernise Moldova’s public healthcare system in the country.
- The construction of Cahul’s regional hospital is part of a project that is expected to be co-financed by EIB Global and the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) and also includes the construction of a regional hospital in the city of Balti, Northern Moldova.
The European Investment Bank (EIB)-managed Eastern Partnership Technical Assistance Trust Fund (EPTATF) and Swedfund, the Development Finance Institution of Sweden, will provide up to €1 500 000 in grants to the Government of the Republic of Moldova to support the preparation of feasibility studies, the functional plan, preliminary design, and tender documents for the construction of a new regional hospital in the city of Cahul, a regional centre in southern Moldova. EPTATF is granting close to €500 000, with Swedfund donating up to SEK 10 million (around €1 million).
The new regional hospital in Cahul will expand the range of medical treatments available locally for more than 120 000 people living in Southern Moldova, including treatments for cancer patients, such as chemotherapy.
The EPTATF and Swedfund grants will support faster modernisation and expansion of the public healthcare sector in Moldova, and improve its resilience to major crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine — a shared priority for both the Government of Moldova and Team Europe.
EIB Vice-President Teresa Czerwińska, who is in charge of EIB operations in Moldova, said: “The EIB is proud to support Moldova in modernising its public healthcare system. The new Cahul regional hospital will increase the country’s resilience to major crisis situations and improve the quality of healthcare for Moldovan citizens. I would like to thank our partners at Swedfund and the Ministry of Health of Moldova for the opportunity to team up on this important project for the people of Moldova. Our cooperation is an excellent example of how the EU–Moldovan partnership translates into a higher quality of life for the citizens of Moldova.”
Swedfund Director Strategy & Communication, Karin Kronhöffer, said: “While the world is still in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an urgent need for sustainable investments in resilient healthcare systems. We also know that partnerships will be key to building back better. It is therefore important for us to be a part of a cooperation with Moldova and the EIB, where Swedfund can provide technical assistance for a feasibility study that will lay the foundations for a regional hospital in Cahul and ultimately increase access to healthcare for Moldovan citizens. We look forward to continued partnership and cooperation.”
Ala Nemerenco, Minister of Health of the Republic of Moldova said: “The decentralisation of high-performance medical services and their increased proximity to citizens is a very important step for the performance of the health system in the Republic of Moldova. The regionalisation of healthcare in areas like neurosurgery, oncology and other technology-intensive areas will lead to high accessibility and improved quality, and therefore increase the satisfaction of patients and healthcare workers. Moreover, the regionalisation of hospital services will have a lasting impact on public health indicators."
Jānis Mažeiks, Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Moldova, said: “The European Union provides continuous support to the healthcare system of the Republic of Moldova, contributing to its long-term resilience. In a Team Europe approach, constructing new regional hospitals will increase the quality and efficiency of medical treatments using the latest technology and know-how in the field. The new hospitals will help the public health system to cope with future pandemics and other health challenges better, and will address the needs of the citizens of the Republic of Moldova who live in the regions of the country.”
Team Europe and the Council of Europe Development Bank for a modern and resilient public healthcare system for Moldovans
The Government of Moldova’s national health strategy for 2022-2031 identifies the construction of the new regional hospitals in the cities of Cahul and Balti as the country’s priority projects and key to the sustainable development of the national health system. The EIB and CEB are currently considering financing the construction of these hospitals, with the EIB planning to fund the hospital in Cahul, and the CEB the hospital in Balti. The new hospitals are vital to increasing the Moldovan healthcare system’s capacity to provide high quality, affordable medical care to the public.
To further advance the implementation of Moldova’s national health strategy, the EPTATF grant will cover the establishment of a project implementation unit in the Ministry of Health to prepare and implement projects identified by the strategy and accelerate the modernisation and development of a more resilient public healthcare system in Moldova. The implementation unit will also assist the Ministry of Health in its work on the planned construction of the two new regional hospitals in Cahul and Balti.
The EIB established the EPTATF in 2010 as a trust fund to enhance the development impact of investment projects and finance technical assistance operations in the Eastern Partnership countries, including Moldova. The trust fund accelerates private sector development, social and economic infrastructure development and climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Background information
EIB Global is the EIB Group’s new specialised arm dedicated to increasing the impact of international partnerships and development finance. EIB Global is designed to foster strong, focused partnership within Team Europe, alongside fellow development finance institutions and civil society. EIB Global brings the Group closer to local people, companies and institutions through our offices across the world.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/eib-global/
About the EIB in Moldova
The EIB has been active in Moldova since 2007. To date the EIB has invested over €1 billion in 26 operations across the country, supporting EU policy priorities including projects in the transport, energy, small and medium-sized enterprise (SME), agriculture, municipal infrastructure (solid waste, water and wastewater) and services sectors of the Moldovan economy.
About the EIB Eastern Partnership Technical Assistance Trust Fund (EPTATF)
EPTATF, established in 2010, finances technical assistance operations in Eastern Partnership countries. Priority areas include private sector development, social and economic infrastructure development and climate change mitigation and adaptation. The trust fund also provides support for capacity-building programmes, such as training in beneficiary countries and grants for institutional programmes. EPTATF operations are financed by Austria, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
About Swedfund:
Swedfund is Sweden's development finance institution with the mission to contribute to poverty reduction through sustainable investments in developing countries. The Project Accelerator is a facility within Swedfund that provides financing for feasibility studies, capacity-building and other types of project preparatory support which aims to accelerate the implementation of sustainable projects.