The World Bank on June 26 approved $391 million in financing to improve access to high-quality healthcare services and to economic opportunities for people in Assam and Tripura. The Assam State Secondary Healthcare Initiative for Service Delivery Transformation (ASSIST) Project, for which $251 million was approved, will improve access to high-quality secondary healthcare services in Assam and directly serve at least 1.8 million people, World Bank said in a release.
The global financial institution said the project will increase access to comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care services and improve treatment and management of non-communicable diseases. The project will also upgrade up to 10 lower-level facilities to district hospitals in essential districts and strengthen the capacity of nurses and healthcare managers for better service delivery.
"Assam has made strides in increasing access to essential healthcare services, with 87% of women giving birth in a facility today compared to just 24% in 2005. But the rise in non-communicable diseases such as hypertension and diabetes poses a double burden on the State's healthcare system," said team leaders Amith Nagaraj and Elina Pradhan.
