The World Bank www.worldbank.org approved a US $100 million credit for the Uttarakhand Health Systems Development Project http://projects.worldbank.org/P148531?lang=en to improve access to and quality of healthcare services in Uttarakhand a state in India.
The project will engage with private healthcare providers to help them meet their unmet needs in the state’s population, strengthen healthcare facilities, improve information systems, focus on monitoring patients, do research, and reduce financial risks for the population so that quality healthcare will be available to all residents in the state.
Attention will be given to remote areas in the state of Uttarakhand since most of the state is highly mountainous which makes it difficult at times to deliver adequate healthcare because staff positions are hard to maintain in this remote region. According to government data, up to 20 percent of Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANM) are not available at the sub-centers and the shortfall is even higher at the Primary Health Centers (PHC).
The first component of this project will expand access to services by creating an integrated technology-enabled health system along with making primary care, emergency care, and referral services available.
The second component will strengthen the government’s capacity to engage the private sector to improve the quality of services in the entire health system and pursue the innovations being planned under this project.