New Delhi: The World Bank on Monday approved USD 391 million in financing to improve access to high-quality healthcare services and to economic opportunities for people in Assam and Tripura. The Assam State Secondary Healthcare Initiative for Service Delivery Transformation (ASSIST) Project, for which USD 251 million was approved, will improve access to high-quality secondary healthcare services in Assam and directly serve at least 1.8 million people, World Bank said in a release.
Also Read: Assam Launches Cashless Healthcare Scheme To Benefit 26 Lakh Families
The global financial institution said the project will increase access to comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care services and improve treatment and management of non-communicable diseases. The project will also upgrade up to 10 lower-level facilities to district hospitals in essential districts and strengthen the capacity of nurses and healthcare managers for better service delivery.
Team leaders Amith Nagaraj and Elina Pradhan said,
Assam has made strides in increasing access to essential healthcare services, with 87 per cent of women giving birth in a facility today compared to just 24 per cent in 2005. But the rise in non-communicable diseases such as hypertension and diabetes poses a double burden on the state’s healthcare system.
“This project will enhance the quality and efficiency of health care in the state and can potentially serve as a model for healthcare innovations for India’s Northeast region and beyond.”
For Tripura Rural Economic Growth and Service Delivery Project, USD 140 million has been approved, intending to promote socioeconomic development and improve the quality of life of 142,000 households in select tribal blocks, territories where tribal communities live and work.
Also Read: Get Ayushman Health Cards Of Needy People Made On Priority: Uttar Pradesh CM Directs Officials
More than 400 kilometres of rural roads will be upgraded to all-weather roads, providing farmers and communities living in hilly and forested areas with greater access to markets.
World Bank said around 75,000 households will have improved livelihoods from climate-smart agriculture that will help to produce fruits and vegetables. The project will also invest in learning outcomes for secondary school students by increasing enrollments for boys and skilling up teachers.
Team leaders Priti Kumar, Anna O’Donnell, and Tesfamichael Nahusenay said,
The investments made under this project will be instrumental in diversifying local economies, generating new jobs and skills, and directly contributing to human capital development, while also reducing vulnerability to the impacts of climate change.
These loans for two of the northeast India states were from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) with a maturity of 10.5 years including a five-year grace period.
Also Read: PM Modi In US Meets Healthcare Experts On Eradicating Diseases Like Tuberculosis
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF)status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
