In a ceremony held at BADEA’s Headquarters in Khartoum, on Thursday October 20, 2005, a loan agreement was signed between the Republic of Angola and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA). By virtue of this agreement BADEA extends to the Republic of Angola a loan of US $ 7 million to help finance the Rehabilitation and the Extension of Sanatorium Hospital in Luanda.

The signing ceremony was attended by H.E. Manuel Domingos Augusto, Ambassador of the Republic of Angola in Addis Ababa, H.E. Ahmed Abdallah El-Akeil, Chairman of BADEA’s Board of Directors, and H.E. Medhat S. Lotfy, the Director General of BADEA.

The project aims at improving the quality and efficiency of the provision of health services in Angola by making available the medical services to population through rehabilitation and extension of the existing infrastructures. The project also aims at improving the performance of the health sector and providing the network of primary health care (medical centres) in the project area with a referral hospital; in addition to the improvement of health conditions of the populations of the capital and its surroundings; and reduction of the spread of the epidemics and the serious and dangerous illnesses such as the HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

The loan will be repaid in 25 years including a grace period of 5 years and at an annual interest rate of 2%.

With this new loan, the total commitments of BADEA to the Republic of Angola will amount to US $ 44.999 million.