The government of Bangladesh has signed a $15 million financing agreement with the World Bank www.worldbank.org to improve the country’s health, nutrition, and population serves. The Health Sector Support Project will help strengthen the country’s health system by improving quality and coverage of essential services and help to enhance equity especially where key health indicators are below national averages.
The World Bank was among the first development partners to support Bangladesh following their independence. Since then the World Bank has committed over $26 billion in grants and interest free credits to the country.
The project will help the government consolidate progress and fill the remaining gaps in basic health services. The funds will provide quality delivery care in public health facilities for over 800,000 mothers as well as basic immunization coverage for nearly five million children in Sylhet and Chittagong divisions for the years 2017 to 2022.
The project will support the government in meeting growing demands for quality health services and address emerging health challenges such as non-communicable diseases and urban health. The increase in the government’s health spending will also help strengthen the country’s management of their procurement financial management systems.