EUR 32 million to hospital in Tallinn

The North Estonian Regional Hospital and NIB signed an agreement for a loan totalling EUR 32 million in Tallinn today. The loan is providing 50% of the financing necessary for the modernisation of the hospital.

The hospital is located in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, and serves an area with 800,000 inhabitants, or half of the country’s population. The hospital has not been modernised since it was built in 1979. The implementation is scheduled for the period 2006-2010. The financing will be used for the construction of a new section of the hospital and reconstruction of the existing building, as well as purchase of modern medical equipment.

The modernisation of the North Estonian Regional Hospital is an important step in the restructuring of Estonia’s health care sector. The wide-ranging reform is aimed at securing access to high-quality clinical care for the country’s inhabitants.

“The reforms in the health care sector is a high priority for the Baltic countries that became NIB’s members in 2005. The Baltic authorities have requested NIB’s commitment in this area. We consider it as part of our mission to support sustainable and balanced economic development and contribute to the improvement of living standards in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania,” says Johnny Åkerholm, President and CEO of NIB.

NIB’s participation is also being requested due to the fact that international development organisations are currently withdrawing from the health care sector in the new EU member countries.