In March, the U.S. government announced an investment of $8.48 million to help build a new hospital in Chuuk state. The funding will be obtained with the assistance of the Compact of Free Association (COFA) grant.
In a statement, the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) said the investment would support “the Government of the Federated States of Micronesia’s efforts toward designing, developing and engineering a new hospital in Chuuk State” that’ll replace the old one in the island municipality of Weno, the largest town in the FSM.
It was built before 1986, prior to the start of the Compacts.
According to the Pacific Island Times, the amount allotted for the new hospital accounted for nearly 90 percent of the $9.8 million earmarked for the infrastructure sector this year.
The renewed COFA agreement guarantees $140 million in annual U.S. aid to the FSM beginning in 2024.
Even though the FSM can choose where and how they spend COFA funding, the agreement states that at least 25 percent of it should go to infrastructure projects.
OIA’s Carmen G. Cantor, Assistant Secretary of Insular and International Affairs, stated that this project underscores the U.S.’ commitment under COFA “to improve infrastructure in the region.”
