At least three hospitals will soon be built in Africa thanks to a funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB), the head of the private sector of the African banking institution, Tom Turner, said here Thursday.
“I will be in Japan next week-end to discuss with a key Japanese partner specialised in health issues. We would like to build with this nonprofit institution three benchmark hospitals on the continent in the short term,” he said at a news briefing.
Highlighting the importance of health in development, Turner suggested a meeting with African Cooperation Ministers on the fringes of the International Meeting for Africa’s Development (TICAD) slated for April 2008 in Japan.
“We will continue our search for key partners to fund the construction of private hospitals in Africa,” he said, noting that the board of directors of the Bank is expected to allow other initiatives for health development on the continent.
“If the board allows it, we will give loans of US$10 and US$20 million to health projects. We seek to attract other donors to the the health sector. In this regard, we have a close collaboration with the World Bank,” he said.
