Sector Director of the WB's South Asia Human Development Sector Julian Schweitzer yesterday said this at a press briefing at the WB Dhaka office.

The WB will also administer an additional fund of about $460 million provided by co-financiers Canadian International Development Agency (Cida), UK Department for International Development (DFID), European Union (EU), Swedish International Development Corporation Agency (Sida) and the UNFPA.

Schweitzer said Bangladesh is able to sustain high rates of economic growth with considerable improvements in social indicators over the past two decades.

The country is well underway in achieving many of the Health, Nutrition and Population (HNP) related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and is doing fairly well compared to other South Asian nations, he observed.

The WB official however said despite improvements, challenges remain in the HNP sector in Bangladesh.

He said the gap in health conditions between the rich and the poor still remains high. Ensuring the quality of health care also remains a big challenge for the country.

Schweitzer said Bangladesh should emphasise reducing maternal mortality rate and improving nutrition status of its people.

He added that the HNP Strategic Investment Plan 2003-2010 will support the government's social development goals as outlined in the draft Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) and assist in attaining the HNP-related MDGs.