News
Kosovo: CEB approves €35 million to support emergency health care
12 May 2020
PARIS – The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) has approved a €35 million loan to support the authorities’ ongoing efforts to provide health care to those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The CEB has also approved a grant of €1 million from the Social Dividend Account as an interest-rate subsidy for the loan.
Kosovo’s economy is expected to contract by 5% this year on account of the COVID-19 outbreak and the associated containment measures, while extraordinary expenditures for healthcare assistance and economic and financial measures as a consequence of the pandemic are estimated at €280 million.
The CEB loan will cover a part of the emergency healthcare costs and will enable the establishment of specialised units in selected hospitals and the purchase of treatment and diagnostic equipment, such as oxygen delivery systems, ultrasound and tomography devices as well as protective and medical supplies, testing kits and diagnostic reagents. The loan will also provide for hardship incentives to healthcare and pharmacy employees, training of medical staff, and the mobilisation of additional healthcare personnel.
The CEB financing will benefit 1.9 million people currently living in Kosovo and particularly the most vulnerable, such as the elderly, persons with chronic conditions, and healthcare workers.
CEB Governor Rolf Wenzel said: “In line with its exclusively social mandate, the Bank has sought to assist its members in responding effectively to this unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic affecting many of our member countries. This first loan to the authorities of Kosovo provides financing for health care services and vulnerable population groups. In addition, the CEB provides a grant as an interest-subsidy which will further improve the financial conditions of the loan. The loan is made available by fast-track procedure and associated with COVID-19 extraordinary measures.”
[Notes]
[1] Kosovo joined the CEB in November 2013. The Bank has recently approved a €2 million financing support for micro-enterprises and low-income farmers and private households, with limited or no access to bank loans. Some 2 000 entrepreneurs, micro and small enterprises, smallholders and households are estimated to benefit from the programme, with a focus on women entrepreneurs.
[2] The Social Dividend Account (SDA) was established in 1996. It is financed mainly by contributions from CEB member states, through allocations from the Bank’s annual profit, which constitute dividends of a social nature. The Account is used to provide loan guarantees, technical assistance, interest-rate subsidies and grant contributions in favour of highly social projects. More information can be found here.
Set up in 1956, the CEB (Council of Europe Development Bank) has 41 member states. Twenty-two Central, Eastern and South Eastern European countries, forming the Bank's target countries, are listed among the member states. As a major instrument of the policy of solidarity in Europe, the Bank finances social projects by making available resources raised in conditions reflecting the quality of its rating (AA+ with Fitch Ratings, outlook positive, AAA with Standard & Poor's, outlook stable and Aa1 with Moody's, outlook stable). It thus grants loans to its member states, and to financial institutions and local authorities in its member states for the financing of projects in the social sector, in accordance with its Articles of Agreement.