HEALTH services are set to improve after the National Microfinance Bank (NMB) and the Stichting Medical Credit Fund (MCF) inked a partnership to provide affordable loans to private health facilities of up to 2bn/-.
The Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE)
listed bank with over two million customers, 175 branches and over 600
ATMs, becomes the first bank in the country to enter into that kind of
partnership with MCF to support health sector through financing,
broadening and strengthening the quality of healthcare provision.
The beneficiaries in the partnership are
the private hospitals, dispensaries, health centres and non-public
health service providers like medical suppliers and medical colleges.
The minimum capital that will be
provided is 30m/-. NMB Managing Director Ms Ineke Bussemaker said in Dar
es Salaam yesterday after signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
that the agreement came at a right time and would contribute to
increasing access to affordable basic healthcare and help build
sustainable health providers.
“It is yet another milestone for NMB
which is the districts to prove its closeness to everyone and
everywhere,” she said. “There is big opportunity in the health sector
and NMB recognise and commit itself in helping hospitals and health
centres because it will contribute to increased access to affordable
basic healthcare.”
She said the partnership will give
healthcare providers access to finance including a special technical
package for the players to identify suppliers of quality medical
equipment, training for medical practitioners and service quality
improvement. Since a good understanding of the health sector is needed
to support the quality, sustainable players thus MCF has the wide
knowledge and experience and would provide guarantees in the NMB
financing.
The MCF Chief Executive Officer Ms
Monique Dolfing-Vogelenzang said the MoU was crucial in realizing the
funds objectives of increasing access to affordable basic health
delivery.
“Access to investment capital has been a
challenge and impedes the provision of affordable health delivery
especially when looking on the context of building sustainable health
systems,” she said.
She added: “With this MoU, we are happy
that many private hospitals, health centres, dispensaries will have the
capacity to invest in modern and sophisticated health apparatus to be
realised through partnership with the largest bank with the widest
outreach in the country.”
NMB’s largest shareholders are its strategic partners Rabobank with a 34.9 per cent share and the government with 31.9 per cent
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