The World Bank has announced a three-year financing package for sub-Saharan Africa

The World Bank has announced a three-year financing package for sub-Saharan Africa worth $57bn (£46bn). World Bank President Jim Yong Kim says the financing will help African countries grow, create opportunities and guard against external shocks and crises.

The bulk of the money being made available – $45bn worth – will be channeled through the International Development Association, the part of the World Bank that concentrates on the world’s least developed countries.

The financing will support more than 400 projects already under way in sub-Saharan Africa – ranging from infrastructure development and education to water sanitation and basic health services. The idea is to create the conditions to boost economic growth.

The support will come through a combination of financing tools: grants, interest-free loans and low-interest loans. The commodity slump of recent years hit the region’s finances hard, but a modest rebound is expected this year.

Analysts say this “shot in the arm” from the World Bank could significantly help the sustainability of that recovery.

BBC

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