CAF to Allot USD 1 Billion to Support Vaccination and Latin America’s Health Sector

The CAF Board of Directors has approved a line of credit of up to USD 1 billion aimed at strengthening the region’s health sectors. The sectoral credit line will go to support measures aimed at improving access to treatment and medical procedures, as well as ensuring access to one or more COVID-19 vaccines and the acquisition of the necessary supplies for the vaccine to be effectively applied.

Funding may also be used to strengthen epidemiological surveillance and health sector responsiveness, accelerate incorporation of technologies, and restore normal operating conditions for healthcare services.

“We continue to provide agile and efficient financing facilities to support the 19 member countries in their vaccination plans and the strengthening of the healthcare sector to improve the well-being of the population,” CAF executive president Luis Carranza Ugarte said.

The Extraordinary Shareholders’ Meeting approved the accession of Costa Rica and Mexico as full members of the institution, which will translate into greater access to long-term financial resources, as well as technical cooperation for their sustainable development, among other benefits. For CAF, this equity enhancement will enable the bank to sustain its operational growth and thus continue to maximize its impact on country development and improving people’s living conditions.

At the 171st Board meeting, a regional contingent line of credit was approved for extreme weather events, earthquakes, polluting accidents and epidemics in the region for up to USD 500 million, in order to deal with emergencies in its shareholder countries in an agile and timely manner. In 2020, the bank awarded as much as USD 300 million to governments under these same conditions in support of actions to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first meeting of 2021 also approved a total of USD 940.4 million in the following loans:

-CAF to Help Modernize Argentina’s Air Traffic Control Systems.

-CAF Commits USD 350 million to Aid Panama Digital Transformation and Inclusion Strategy

-CAF to Allocate USD 250 million for Paraguay Economic Revival

-CAF Approves USD 300 Million for Uruguay Power Sector

Finally, CAF continues its support to countries in carrying out pre-investment tasks in terms of regional integration infrastructure projects through a new stage of its CAF PPI program with funds amounting to USD 10 million. The institution hopes to contribute to speeding up the implementation of the regional integration agenda by enhancing impacts and providing added value.

Since its 2017 release, the CAF PPI program has contributed USD 20 million towards supporting eight projects in seven shareholder countries, namely, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Panama and Paraguay. This support includes projects related to building up railroads, thoroughfares, digital connectivity, electrical interconnection, and integration logistics corridor development programs. CAF’s contribution is expected to jumpstart investments in regional integration infrastructure by USD 3.7 billion.