DAR ES SALAAM, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank and Tanzania on Tuesday signed financing agreements to the tune of 579.93 million U.S. dollars in soft loans and grants to support the East African nation's essential child healthcare services and sustainable rural water supply and sanitation program.
A statement by the Ministry of Finance and Planning said the financing agreements were signed in Dar es Salaam between the Minister of Finance and Planning Mwigulu Nchemba and the World Bank Country Director for Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe Nathan Belete.
The statement said 550 million U.S. dollars was a soft loan from the World Bank and 29.93 million U.S. dollars was a grant from the Energy Sector Management Assistant Program and the Global Financing Facility.
The financing will support the new maternal and child health investment program aimed at improving the quality of essential healthcare services and scaling up their delivery, with a focus on maternal and child health, said the statement, adding that the sustainable rural water supply and sanitation program will raise the bar for the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency operations. ■