The board of directors of the African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional window of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, has approved additional resources to Ethiopia’s Basic Services Transformation Programme (BSTP) in the form of a US$123mn grant
The Basic Services Transformation Programme Supplementary Financing (BSTP-SF) will be for the fiscal years 2018/19-2019/20.
The proposed support is consistent with the Ethiopian government’s growth and transformation plan II with specific reference to the strategic pillar on accelerating human development and technological capacity building and ensuring its sustainability.
The additional financial support is a continuation of the AfDB Group’s commitment to deliver quality basic services in Ethiopia in the critical services sectors such as healthcare, education, and water and sanitation.
The original support programme was approved in December 2015.
The financial resources from the fund will also enable the government of Ethiopia to continue with programmes that increase access to better basic services at the local level; strengthen accountability and transparency in service delivery and improve citizen’s engagement in service delivery.
Women will benefit from accountability and citizenship engagement initiatives such as social accountability, financial transparency accountability (budget literacy) and participation in Water, Sanitation, Hygiene Committees (WaSHCOs) in addition to improved healthcare and water and sanitation services.
The measures will benefit those in the underserved regions and pastoralist communities of Afar, Ethiopia-Somali, Benishangul-Gumuz and Gambela.
The board of directors of the ADF noted Ethiopia’s progressive economic development and structural transformation process. The East African nation’s fiscal policy in 2018/19 is expected to sustain focus on fiscal consolidation, characterised by stable pro-poor spending and improvements in public revenue mobilisation.
BSTP-SF was developed jointly by the African Development Fund and the government of Ethiopia, in close consultation with important development partners supporting basic service delivery (the World Bank, European Union, Austria Development Agency and Italy Development Cooperation).
