Social Infrastructure

At a glance

Good health and quality education are specified as two of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, yet they are so central to human progress that they lay the foundation for much of the sustainable development agenda.

Ending poverty and hunger, empowering women and girls, expanding decent work, reducing inequality—these are just some of the goals that hinge on quality health and education.

Our
Strategy

The Inter-American Development Bank has made massive investments in social infrastructure and services in the region in the last five years, with disbursements to the public sector of close to $3 billion in health and $2 billion in education.

As part of the IDB Group, IDB Invest can complement that expertise and offer additional solutions. Even though it is up to governments to ensure access to health and education, the private sector can help close some of the gaps. At IDB Invest, we work with both state-owned and private companies to expand financing for health and education and make services better, more efficient and more sustainable.

Filling critical gaps

As is the case in other sectors such as water and transportation infrastructure, the need for investment in health and education often exceeds the capacity of governments.

Fiscal constraints mean that hospitals, schools and other such facilities must often rely on loans without sovereign guarantees; at the same time, international banking regulations have made commercial banks less willing or able to provide long-term financing.

At IDB Invest, we offer a range of non-sovereign financial products to state-owned enterprises—and add value by strengthening social and environmental aspects of the projects being financed. We also work with private and state-owned companies to improve the efficiency of their operations, strengthen their corporate governance practices and improve their eligibility for commercial financing.

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) are another way to take on large health and education infrastructure projects. The private sector has a strong track record in developing, executing, maintaining and operating health and education assets and could improve the efficiency and quality of services. The IDB Group—the IDB and IDB Invest together—can work alongside governments to help develop proper PPP regulatory frameworks and structures for private investment.

The IDB Group’s knowledge of the region and experience in both the public and private sectors, combined with our technical capacity to develop innovative financial and non-financial products, make us a logical place to turn for solutions.