New Delhi: The Indian government and Asian Development Bank have signed a 300 million dollar loan agreement to improve primary health care services in urban areas of 13 states. It is expected to benefit over 256 million urban dwellers including 51 million from slum areas, the ministry of finance said on Wednesday.
The loan agreement, which was signed by Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance, and Takeo Konishi, Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission on Tuesday will strengthen the comprehensive primary health care and pandemic preparedness in urban areas.
Mishra said the programme will support Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWC) and Pradhan Mantri Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana (PM-ASBY), which has been renamed as Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) by expanding the availability and access to quality primary health care services, particularly for vulnerable populations in urban areas.
The Ayushman Bharat programme, which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018, aims to improve access to comprehensive primary health care as a key strategy to achieve universal health coverage in India.
With the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic that put additional pressure on the country’s health system, the government launched PM-ASBY later renamed as PM-ABHIM last month to adopt a long-term approach to strengthen the healthcare system for any health emergencies in future.
The highly infectious Covid-19 virus has killed more than 4,66,000 people in the country and more than 5.18 million people worldwide, destroying lives and livelihoods across continents.
ADB’s Takeo Konishi said the programme complements the government’s efforts to bridge the health care gaps by strengthening institutional capacity, operation, and management of urban health and wellness centres at the central, state, and municipal levels.
13 states to benefit
Officials said the programme will be implemented in urban areas across 13 states including Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and West Bengal.
Besides the pandemic response, the programme will also emphasise on the increased utilization of urban health and wellness centres with the provision of comprehensive primary health care packages. It will also include non-communicable diseases and community outreach services such as awareness-raising activities on health care options, particularly for women.
Officials said the programme will upgrade the delivery and health information systems in primary health care centres with the help of digital tools and quality assurance mechanisms.
The government will also engage with the private sector for the improvement of the primary healthcare system under the programme.
The programme is supported by a $2 million technical assistance grant from ADB’s Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction.
The fund aims to provide support for the programme implementation and coordination, capacity building, innovation, knowledge sharing and application of scalable best practices across the healthcare system.
Read: India, World Bank sign US$ 250 million loan pact to improve quality of learning in Andhra Pradesh
