Riyadh: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been providing development support to developing countries around the world in a relentless endeavor aiming to contribute to alleviating their suffering as a result of natural and climate disasters and other challenges and risks facing the development process, including those facing the health sector.
Through the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), the Kingdom has demonstrated a rich record of continuous initiatives in development projects and programs in the health sector around the world.
Since 1975, the SFD has contributed to supporting the health sector in developing countries around the world, providing funding to the African continent to implement 40 development projects and programs and provided the Asian continent with 29 ones. The support also included the European continent by financing two development projects, in addition to Latin America and the Caribbean, which had 4 development projects and programs.
This support comes through the establishment and equipment of hospitals and specialized healthcare facilities and the rehabilitation of medical research centers, with a total financing through soft development loans exceeding $1.85 billion, representing 8.94% of the Fund’s total support.
Examples of the SFD-financed projects the health sector include the King Faisal Hospital in the Republic of Rwanda, which has been funded since 1986, with the facility and for the first time Rwanda contributing to providing kidney transplant services to patients, and reducing financial costs, besides the construction and equipment project of the 220-bed Heart Institute in Kampala, in the Republic of Uganda, benefiting more than 62,000 people annually, and other specific projects.
The objectives of the SFD in supporting the health sector are stemmed from its development efforts in various sectors, as the Fund has contributed to strengthening the pillars of sustainable development in its various scopes and forms in developing countries around the world through support and financing for more than 800 projects and development programs with a total estimated value of over $20 billion in more than 100 developing countries.
These projects included various development sectors, including health, education, transportation, agriculture, housing, water and sanitation, energy, among others, with the SFD’s efforts also focusing on creating various opportunities to contribute to enhancing economic and social growth to improve living conditions and help these countries keep pace with developments in the field of knowledge, capacity building, and job creation for millions of beneficiaries around the world.
Source: Saudi Press Agency