The World Bank has given the nod to a massive loan of 90 million, roughly 2, 400 crores, which will be used to revamp the healthcare system in West Bengal. That is a major boost for more than 90 million people in the state.
This new financing is a part of the West Bengal Health System Reform Program and, in fact, it is not only a grant. It aims at improving the health outcome of the population at large, ensuring fairness in accessing the different services, and getting the health system ready to take on emergencies and climate disasters.
What will be different?
It is essentially about making healthcare accessible to a greater number of people thereby improving the health status and most importantly the people living in remote and backward areas. Women health, puberty care, the prevention and treatment of lifestyle, diseases such as hypertension and diabetes, are the efforts of the next level interventions with a proper use of the IT tools and a people, cantered approach rather than a paper, cantered one.
A few regions like Purulia, Birbhum, Murshidabad, Malda, and Uttar Dinajpur are covering in their health indicators. So, the program is beset at reducing the health differences and particularly strengthening the reproductive healthcare facilities for mothers, adolescents, and teens.
They are also equipping health facilities to be resilient so that they don’t get damaged in the face of floods or extreme heat. Besides this, part of the funds is earmarked for the survivors of gender, based violence through well, secured structures and skilled staff. Officials from the World Bank say that this is not only