World Bank Approves Loan to Serbia

CRNPS

26 March 2008

The Board of Directors of the World Bank approved a USD46.6 million loan to Serbia for the Project for Improvement of local services. The four components of the Project will be implemented over a period of four years.

The project aims to assist the competent Government ministries and local institutions to improve the provision of decentralized health, education and social welfare services.

The first component (seven million USD) is intended to increase efficiency of local level healthcare, education and social welfare systems.

The second component (12.2 million USD) will promote services to vulnerable group through innovative approaches to providing services to persons with special needs, Roma population, displaced persons and refugees, including creation of human rights protection institutions.

The third, 7.4 million USD, component will finance the work of competent ministries to enable them to meet their obligations in the new Law on Local Self-Government.

The fourth and biggest component (16.5 million) will finance training and equipment needed for schools, primary healthcare institutions, social welfare centres and local administration to secure quality services fo households living within their respective jurisdictions.

The project was created in cooperation with Government ministries of education, healthcare and social policies.