Washington D.C., 25 April 2025 (PAHO) - El Salvador will improve access to quality health services, with an emphasis on primary care, thanks to a US$120 million project established with the World Bank in late March. This is the first loan negotiated by a country within the framework of the Alliance for Primary Health Care in the Americas, a joint initiative of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the World Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The project will help to improve the coverage and quality of health services in El Salvador, particularly in the country’s most vulnerable areas. Its key components include strengthening the primary health care (PHC)-based care model, improving health infrastructure, developing human talent, and strengthening the stewardship and governance of the health system.
PAHO, through the Alliance, has assisted El Salvador in the design and prioritization of strategies to transform its health system. The country formalized its participation in the Alliance for PHC in December 2024, with the launch of a National Advisory Board that brings together national authorities, cooperation partners, and financial organizations to coordinate and advance the transformation of the Salvadoran health system.
"The Alliance for PHC coordinates efforts among governments, multilateral organizations, and development partners to mobilize technical and financial resources to promote structural changes in health systems," said James Fitzgerald, Director of PAHO's Department of Health Systems and Services. "El Salvador's leadership in this process demonstrates how shared mandates in health can be used to guide sustainable, people-centered investments," he added.
This project is a milestone for the Alliance, consolidating its role as a platform for channeling transformational investments in health in the Region of the Americas. The Alliance already operates in ten countries where PAHO, the World Bank, and the IDB work closely with the authorities through the Consultative Table for PHC, a strategic mechanism for dialogue and coordination.
As part of this process, on 10 April 2025, the first meeting of the Consultative Table was held in El Salvador, with the participation of national health authorities and representatives of PAHO, the World Bank, and the IDB. Areas of inter-institutional collaboration were defined and the next steps for joint work were agreed upon.
PAHO will continue to provide technical cooperation for El Salvador to implement the project, ensuring that actions are aligned with the comprehensive and integrated care model, and that they contribute to strengthening the institutional capacity of the Ministry of Health to lead the transformation of the system.
The Alliance for PHC
Since December 2023, PAHO, the IDB, and the World Bank have been collaborating through the Alliance to promote coordinated action that guides and coordinates investments in health, leverages innovation, and accelerates the transformation of health systems at the country level, based on the PHC approach.
As part of the initiative, the three organizations help countries assess the performance of their health systems and develop policy dialogues, while collaborating in the formulation of investment plans aimed at expanding and strengthening resilient PHC-based health systems. This collaboration seeks to increase and optimize investments in health care, making them more efficient.
