AFD offers $5.8 million grant
for two hospitals in the South

Guarantees up to $5 million microfinance loans provided by Vitas

The French Development Agency (AFD) has signed two contracts, one involving providing a donation of €5 million ($5.8 million) to rehabilitate the health and water infrastructures of the government hospitals in Tibnine and Marjeyoun.

The other contract aims to guarantee microfinance loans provided by Vitas Lebanon to Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs). The guarantee provided by Proparco, the AFD’s private sector financing subsidiary, will cover 80 percent of the value of an outstanding loan, said Nathalie Baddour, Risk Manager at Vitas Lebanon, a microfinance institution. The size of the loans will range from $500 to $20,000 and their total amount could reach $4.5 million to $5 million. The loan’s term must be at least one year. “All eligible MSMEs in different sectors will benefit from this program mainly those run by women and youth below 30-35 years old. Areas affected by the war will also be prioritized,” Baddour said.

Jean-Bertrand Mothes, Lebanon Country Director at the AFD Group, said that the grant for the rehabilitation of the health and water infrastructures of the Tibnine and Marjeyoun hospitals will be provided by the French State and AFD. The project is part of a bigger program that is being implemented by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). “The water infrastructure (both supply and drainage) connected to the two hospitals will be revamped. This will also benefit 44 villages. For instance, repairing a water pump station on the network linked to the hospitals improves service for all connected villages as well,” Mothes said.