PA RURAL HEALTH

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The Rural Health Project will: (a) reduce the incidence of malnutrition from an estimated 40 percent at present to about 30 percent among young children, breast-feeding and pregnant women in the poorest 28 districts of Panama; (b) increase the coverage of water supply and basic sanitation in all of Panama's rural areas from about 62 to 80 percent and from about 72 to 88 percent respectively; (c) train new and existing Community Water Boards to improve their capacity to operate and maintain systems under their responsibility; and (d) strengthen the institutional capacity of: the Subdirectorate General of Environmental Health of the Ministry of Health, Subdirectorate General of Health Services, Project Administration Unit, and the Ministry of Planning and Economic Policy. The Project supports the Government of Panama's poverty alleviation strategy as it (a) targets nutrition interventions in the poorest districts; (b) contributes to human resource development by improving access to basic and preventive health services; (c) involves the community in the design and execution of subprojects and makes them fully responsible for their operation and maintenance; and (d) makes the fullest use of nongovernmental organizations, private sector and community resources. Thus, the project consists of three components: nutrition, rural water supply and sanitation, and institutional strengthening.