The International Development Grant will support the government’s efforts to increase poor communities’ access to basic services and social safety nets to protect individuals and families from poverty.

Pierre Laporte, World Bank country director for Benin, said: “While progress has been made in recent years to improve access to basic infrastructures and safety nets, Benin still faces large gaps in coverage, especially in the poorest and remote areas.

“The new project will help the government address these challenges more efficiently to enhance social well-being.”

The World Bank’s IDA grant helps the world’s poorest countries by providing grants and low to zero-interest loans for projects and programmes that boost economic growth and reduce poverty.

The new Community and Local Government Basic Social Services Project in Benin will help improve local? service delivery through grants for investments in education, health, rural roads and market infrastructure.

It also complements the government’s initiative to set up a national social registry identifying all poor and extreme poor households in Benin, by providing finance for the project called Insurance for Reinforcing Human Capital.

The education and health sectors already take a significant share of public money, with an average 23% allocated to education and 7% to health in Benin, according to the World Bank.