ADB approves $110 mn for Bangladesh healthcare services

The Board of Directors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved on Wednesday an additional loan financing of $110 million for a project that is improving access to urban primary healthcare services in Bangladesh through public-private partnerships.

"ADB's support to the government-led Urban Primary Health Care Services Delivery Project approved in 2012 has been filling a vacuum created by the lack of urban public primary healthcare by increasing access to quality services, especially for poor households," ADB Social Sector Specialist Brian Chin said in a statement.

"The new financing will focus on strengthening the service delivery system, building on the results of the 2012 project and two previous projects, to meet unmet demands and develop self-reliance in the running of the system," Chin was cited as saying by Xinhua news agency.

According to the ADB statement, the new financing will build on previous efforts towards climate change mitigation by adopting solar panels, rainwater harvesting systems and flood drainage.

The Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund, financed by the Rockefeller Foundation and the governments of Switzerland and Britain, will provide a $2 million grant, to be administered by ADB, the statement said.

The Bangladesh government will contribute $30 million towards the cost of the additional financing, while the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) will provide $1.5 million in-kind technical support, it added.

The project completion date is in March 2023.

--IANS

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