World Bank Loan for India’s Health Sector

Context: 

The World Bank is lending up to $1 billion to help India with preparedness for future pandemics as well as to strengthen its health infrastructure. 

More on News:

• The lending will be divided into two complementary loans of $500 million each. 
• Support to PM­-ABHIM: Through this combined financing of $1 billion, the bank will support India’s flagship Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM­-ABHIM), launched in October 2021, to improve the public healthcare infrastructure across the country.
• Focus States: The loans will prioritise health service delivery in seven States — Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Meghalaya, Odisha, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh. 
•  Pandemic Preparedness Programme (PHSPP): The $500 ­million Public Health Systems for Pandemic Preparedness Programme (PHSPP) will support the government’s efforts to prepare India’s surveillance system to detect and report epidemics of potential international concern. 
• Enhanced Health Service Delivery Programme (EHSDP): Another $500­ million Enhanced Health Service Delivery Programme (EHSDP) will support the government’s efforts to strengthen service delivery through a redesigned primary healthcare model.
• Maturity Period: Both the PHSPP and the EHSDP loans from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) have a final maturity of 18.5 years, including a grace period of five years.

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development:

• The IBRD is a global development cooperative owned by 189 member countries. 
• Created in 1944 to help Europe rebuild after World War II, IBRD joins with IDA, our fund for the poorest countries, to form the World Bank.
• As the largest development bank in the world, it supports the World Bank Group’s mission by providing loans, guarantees, risk management products, and advisory services to middle-income and creditworthy low-income countries. 
• They work closely with all institutions of the World Bank Group and the public and private sectors in developing countries to reduce poverty and build shared prosperity.

PM­-ABHIM:

• Aim: To Strengthen healthcare infrastructure across the country.
• Objective: To fill gaps in public health infrastructure, especially in critical care facilities and primary care in both urban and rural areas.
• Available Services: Critical care services will be available in all the districts of the country with more than five lakh population through exclusive critical care hospital blocks, while the remaining districts will be covered through referral services.
• Integrated Public Health Labs: These labs will also be set up in all districts, giving people access to “a full range of diagnostic services” through a network of laboratories across the country.
• IT-enabled disease surveillance system: An IT-enabled disease surveillance system will be established through a network of surveillance laboratories at block, district, regional and national levels.

News Source: The Hindu