INDIA – The World Bank has approved loan totaling US$1 billion to fund India’s Prime Minister Ayushman Bharat scheme.
The World Bank also approved US$750 million in the form of a development policy loan (DPL) to fill financing gaps through private sector investment in the economy.
The World Bank’s Executive Directors approved two complementary loans totaling US$500 million each to support and improve India’s health sector.
The World Bank will support India’s flagship Pradhan Mantri-Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM), which will be launched in October 2022, with this combined financing of US$1 billion, the World Bank said in a release on Friday.
The funds will be used to improve the country’s public healthcare infrastructure. In addition to national-level interventions, the multilateral funding agency stated that one of the loans will prioritize seven states: Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Meghalaya, Odisha, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh.
Separately, its board of directors approved the DPL to the union government to support critical reforms to address financing gaps by leveraging private sector investment in infrastructure, small businesses, and green finance markets.
The World Bank said India’s performance in the health sector has improved over time. It has estimated India’s life expectancy at 69.8 in 2020, up from 58 in 1990 — higher than the average for the country’s income level.
The funds will be used to improve the country’s public healthcare infrastructure. In addition to national-level interventions, the multilateral funding agency stated that one of the loans will prioritize seven states: Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Meghalaya, Odisha, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh.
The under-five mortality rate (36 per 1,000 live births), infant mortality rate (30 per 1,000 live births), and maternal mortality ratio (103 per 1,00,000 live births) are all close to the average for India’s income level, reflecting significant achievements in access to skilled birth attendance, immunizations, and other priority services, the World Bank said.
It said despite these advances in the health sector, COVID-19 has underscored the need for revitalizing, reforming, and developing capacity for core public health functions, as well as for improving the quality and comprehensiveness of the health service delivery.
“The COVID-19 outbreak has re-emphasized the urgency for significant reforms to improve the health sector performance in India,” said Hideki Mori, World Bank’s Acting Country Director for India.
Mori said India’s decision to invest early and significantly to strengthen its health system even as it emerges from the pandemic, is a pioneering choice and “we are pleased to support this important agenda.”
Under health, two loans– Public Health Systems for Pandemic Preparedness Programme (PHSPP) and Enhanced Health Service Delivery Programme (EHSDP) — are designed to be complementary and transformational in impact.
It will support the Indian government’s reform agenda to accelerate universal coverage, improve quality, and increase the resilience and preparedness of the health system, the World Bank said.
PHSPP will support the government’s efforts to prepare India’s surveillance system to detect and report epidemics of potential international concerns; enhancing capacity to detect pathogens, including zoonotic diseases and strengthen coordination and build institutional capacity of core public health institutions.
EHSDP will support the government’s efforts to strengthen service delivery through a redesigned primary health care model; improve quality of care by supporting the National Quality Assurance Standards certification across Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs); and transform the health sector governance and accountability by strengthening implementation capacity.
About the DPL, the World Bank said the Indian government has taken several measures over the past decade to improve financial inclusion as well as the stability of the financial sector and the domestic capital markets.
This has resulted in a more efficient and resilient sector in the face of the COVID-19 crisis and other external shocks.
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