The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $100 million loan to improve the quality of secondary healthcare in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, WealthPK reports. According to a statement issued by ADB, the loan will help to improve the health services at secondary hospitals by modernising infrastructure and equipment, ensuring that clinical protocols, standards and guidelines are implemented. The loan will also improve human resources planning and medicine supply chain management. “While the coronavirus placed an enormous strain on essential health services in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and across the country, Pakistan now faces unprecedented flooding which exacerbates the risk of waterborne diseases,” the statement quoted ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov as saying.

He said that the programme would make a key contribution to improving the quality of secondary hospital services in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He added that it would also help the people injured by the floods and support efforts to control the spread of infectious diseases. According to the statement, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s health sector faces significant challenges, including outdated secondary healthcare facilities and equipment besides inadequate quality assurance standards and processes. The province suffers from high infant and maternal mortality rates, at 53 per 1,000 live births and 165 per 100,000, respectively.

“ADB’s assistance will help to sustain health reforms started by the provincial government and strengthen the resilience of the health system to future pandemics,” said ADB Senior Health Specialist for Central and West Asia Hiddo Huitzing. He said that the loan would benefit about 38 million people, including women in need of maternal health care services, and would also create jobs in the health sector. Since 1966, ADB has committed over $37 billion in loans, grants, and other forms of financing to promote inclusive economic growth in Pakistan and improve the country’s infrastructure, energy and food security, transport networks, and social services.

After the recent floods in Pakistan, ADB is preparing a significant response package to support people’s livelihoods and infrastructure development immediately and in the long term. The bank has already approved a $3 million grant to fund the immediate purchase of relief goods such as food supplies and tents, said the statement received by WealthPK.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk