ADB, GoI sign $300-mn loan to improve primary healthcare in urban areas

This will benefit over 256 mn urban dwellers, including 51 mn from slum areas

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Government of India signed a $300-million loan agreement to strengthen and improve access to primary healthcare in urban areas of 13 states, said Centre on Wednesday.

This will benefit over 256 million urban dwellers including 51 million from slum areas. The loan agreement will supports the government’s initiatives - Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWC) and Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) by expanding availability and access to quality primary health care services particularly for vulnerable populations in urban areas, said Ministry of Finance.

The signatories to the loan agreement were Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance signing for the Government of India, and Takeo Konishi, Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission signing for ADB.

The programme will be implemented in urban areas across Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and West Bengal.

“Ensuring equitable access to non-COVID-19 primary health care is critical amid challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic to India’s health system,” Mishra said after signing the loan agreement.

The programme is supported by a $2-million technical assistance grant from ADB’s Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction to provide support for programme implementation and coordination, capacity building, innovation, knowledge sharing and application of scalable best practices across the healthcare system.