World Bank gives add’l US$150 mn for Bangladesh health sector
The World Bank approved an additional financing of US$150 million on June 24 to help strengthen health systems and improve health services, particularly for the poor, in Bangladesh.
This additional financing to the Health Sector Development Program will continue support to implement the government’s Health Sector-wide Program. It will help the government address health sector challenges including: sustaining and improving immunization coverage; improving deliveries for pregnant women at public health facilities; and tackling multi-drug resistant tuberculosis.
The support will also help Bangladesh improve public financial management to get more value from its public spending on health. Further, the financing will support developing a robust health information system, including a web-based complaint-handling mechanism – the first in Bangladesh.
“Bangladesh’s progress in improving health outcomes is remarkable. The country is globally recognized for improving maternal and child health and family planning. Yet many Bangladeshis struggle to access quality health services, costing the economy millions of dollars in days lost due to poor health,” said Qimiao Fan, World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. “Since 1998, we have been supporting the government-led program to address the remaining challenges in the health sector to ensure quality healthcare for all citizens.”
The Health Sector Development Program and its predecessors have contributed to a 40% reduction in maternal mortality since 2010. Bangladesh reduced under-five child mortality by 29% between 2007 and 2014, and during the same period, births attended by medically trained professionals increased from 21% to 42%.
The additional financing will disburse funds against the achievements of agreed results corresponding to the challenges and priority areas.
“The additional financing will follow a new fund disbursement modality linked to the achievement of disbursement linked results, which will pave the way for more results-based intervention in the future,” said BushraAlam, World Bank Task Team Leader for the project.
With this additional financing, the World Bank’s support to the project stands at US$508.9 million. Credit from the World Bank’s International Development Association, which provides grants or zero to low interest loans, has a 38-year term, including a six-year grace period, and a service charge of 0.75%.
