GPOBA Supports Award-winning Hospital Project in Lesotho

News Release No. 2009/3

In Washington:
Cathy Russell, tel. (+1) 202 458 8124
crussell@worldbank.org

Zibusiso M. Sibanda, tel. (+1-202) 473 0605
zsibanda@ifc.org

In Johannesburg:
Houtan Bassiri, tel. (27) 11 731 3179
hbassiri@ifc.org

In Pretoria:
Mmenyane Seoposengwe, tel. (27) 12 431 3103
mseoposengwe@worldbank.org

Johannesburg, February 26, 2009 – Citizens of Lesotho will gain access to greatly improved medical services and care thanks to a grant agreement for US$6.25 million signed by the World Bank, acting as administrator for the Global Partnership on Output-Based Aid (GPOBA), and Tsepong (Proprietary) Limited, a Special Purpose Vehicle created by the regional health care consortium led by Netcare.

The GPOBA grant will provide subsidies for inpatient services at a new 390-bed National Referral Hospital, designed to replace the aging Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, and outpatient services at three semi-urban filter clinics that are being refurbished. These facilities will serve Maseru district, which has a population of almost 500,000 people or one third of the country’s population.