WB gives $515m for healthcare project
The World Bank has joined a $14.7 billion project in Bangladesh's healthcare sector as part of the Washington-based multilateral lender's efforts to bring about qualitative social development in the country.
The WB will provide $515 million for the project. Economic Relations Division Secretary Kazi Shofiqul Azam and World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal Qimiao Fan signed an agreement in this regard at the planning ministry yesterday.
Health Minister Mohammad Nasim, State Minister for Health Zahid Maleque and State Minister for Finance and Planning M Mannan were also present.
The Health Sector Support Project will contribute to the government's fourth health sector programme and support strengthening the country's health system, the WB said in a statement.
It will also help in improving quality and coverage of essential services and enhancing equity, in particular, through a focus on service improvements in Sylhet and Chittagong divisions, where key health indicators are below national averages, the WB said.
“Since 1975, the World Bank has been working closely with the government to improve the country's health, nutrition and population outcomes,” Fan said.
“Bangladesh has made notable progress in cutting maternal and child mortality rates by more than half since 2000, and we are proud to have contributed to these successes,” he said.
“This financing demonstrates the World Bank's continued commitment to support government's strategy to further improve the country's health and nutrition services for all.”
“The government's Fourth Health, Population, and Nutrition Sector Programme aims to ensure that all Bangladeshis have access to quality and equitable healthcare in a healthy and safe living environment,” said Azam.
The project will support the government in consolidating progress and filling remaining gaps in basic health services, according to the statement.
The services include the provision of quality delivery care in public health facilities for over 800,000 mothers, as well as basic immunisation coverage for nearly 5 million children in Sylhet and Chittagong divisions between 2017 and 2022, it said.
The financing will contribute to the government's $14.7 billion (Tk 115,486 crore) health sector programme.
In March, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council approved the fourth Health, Population and Nutrition Sector Programme, with a financial layout 126 percent higher than the third one implemented in 2011-2016.
The total cost of the second programme implemented between 2003 and 2011 was Tk 37,384 crore.
A surprising 84 percent of the fourth programme's money would come from the government's own budget, while development partners, including the WB, would provide Tk 18,847 crore.
Of the $515 million, $500 million will come from the International Development Association, the WB's concessional lending arm, which is interest-free and repayable in 38 years, including a six-year grace period, and will carry a service charge of 0.75 percent.
A $15 million grant will come from the Global Financing Facility, which is a multi-stakeholder partnership that supports country-led efforts to improve the health of women, children, and adolescents.
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