Conakry, Guinea ,  August 18, 2022

Under the patronage of H.E Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya, the president of transition , head of state and supreme chief of the armed forces of  Guinea, an SFD delegation participated yesterday in the inauguration ceremony of the project of the Rehabilitation and Expansion of Donka Hospital in Conakry, Republic of Guinea. The project includes the construction of new buildings and the provision of modern medical equipment to the hospital. The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) finances the project with a soft development loan totaled USD 32 million.

SFD delegation was headed by the Director-General of the Africa Operations Department, Mr. Mohammed Bin Adhan Al-Shammari. The ceremony was attended by Dr. Bernard GOUMOU Acting Prime Minister, Guinea’s Minister of Health, Dr. Mamadou Pèthè Diallo, Mr. Faraj Al-Mabrouk, Chargé d'Affairs of the Saudi Embassy in Guinea, the Director-General of the Hospital, Dr. Mohamed Cissé, as well as representatives of the Islamic Development Bank and a number of officials from the Republic of Guinea.

H.E. Mr. Al-Shammari gave a speech on the occasion of inaugurating the project during which he pointed out that SFD aims to support and develop the health sector in the Republic of Guinea through this vital project, which will expand the hospital by 17,500m2  and provide 631 medical beds to serve more than 2.5 million beneficiaries. He added that the project will facilitate the access of the Guinean people to health care services, which will improve their livelihoods. In light of that, SFD, recognizing its role to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs), financed this project as it is convinced that health sector is vital to human life.

For his part, Minister of Health, Dr. Mamadou Pèthè Diallo appreciated the efforts of the Government of the Kingdom through SFD in supporting the development sectors in the Republic of Guinea. He pointed out that this project would provide many health services to citizens and residents to confront chronic diseases. It provides modern health equipment to reduce the spread of epidemics and to develop health services provided through the rehabilitation of Donka Hospital infrastructure.

It is worth noting that the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia attaches great importance to supporting the development sectors in the Republic of Guinea through SFD-funded development projects and programs  since 1977. SFD provided (16) development loans with a total amount of more than USD (227) million to finance and implement (15) development projects and programs in the transportation, energy, education, health and water sectors. The Kingdom, furthermore, allocated three grants with a total amount of USD 18 million provided by the Government of the Kingdom for three projects in the water sector under the Saudi Program for Digging Wells and Rural Development in Africa.