The Inter-American Development Bank has announced the approval of a US$200 million loan (RD$3,332 million) to the Dominican Republic to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of public spending in priority social sectors, particularly education and health. The money will support the efforts of the government to introduce policy reforms that will strengthen the institutional framework of the social sectors, protect social expenditures, increase their efficiency and strengthen institutional capacity for formulating and monitoring social policy and reducing poverty, according to the IADB. Among the reforms will be decentralized school administration, regularization of school employment, expansion of public health services, improved contracting procedures for hospitals, tighter budgetary procedures for the ministries and enhancement of public-spending targeting methodologies.
