The World Bank has approved a $672 million (Rs3024 crore) loan package to India to improve reproductive and child health services.
WASHINGTON: The World Bank has approved a $672 million (Rs3024 crore) loan package to India to improve reproductive and child health services, reduce mortality and morbidity due to tuberculosis, and increase utilisation of essential health services in Karnataka.
It had earlier withheld the loan pending an investigation into “instances of wrongdoing in the procurement of pharmaceuticals” in a related project on reproductive and child health.
The package will be divided into three parts - the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) II Project (US$360 million), the Second National Tuberculosis Control Project (US$170 million), and the Karnataka Health Systems Development and Reform Project (US$141.83 million).
The Bank said its investigation found instances of serious deficiencies in procurement and its practices. These findings were passed on to the Government of India which took strong action in response to this information.
“The Bank and the Government of India have agreed to implement a strong action plan aimed at addressing collusion and corruption in procurement across the health sector,” said Praful Patel, World Bank Vice-President for South Asia.
“These measures will help provide a larger framework to improve governance in the health sector in India and ensure that quality health services are available to millions of poor people.”
The Bank said the loan was allocated so that India can improve on its health care delivery.
“About 136,000 women and 2.4 million children-about a fifth of the world’s total-die every year in India mostly as a result of preventable causes,” a Bank statement said. “Large disparities among socioeconomic groups persist, population growth remains high in a number of poor states, and there are unmet needs for contraception.”
The project is part of the Government of India’s multi-billion dollar RCH II Program launched last year and supported by several other donor partners.
Among them the Department of International Development of the United Kingdom and the United Nations Population Fund will be pooling resources with the World Bank to encourage deeper cooperation among those engaged in the sector and avoid duplication.
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