NEW DELHI, Dec 2: Asian Development Bank (ADB) has received a grant of nearly Rs 15 crore from Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR), which will be utilised to enhance urban primary healthcare usage across India.
The Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR) has approved a USD 2 million (nearly Rs 15 crore) technical assistance (TA) grant to provide key technical support to an ADB-financed programme.
It aims to strengthen the comprehensive primary health care (CPHC) system in urban areas across India, ADB said in a release on Thursday.
The grant is aligned with the ADB-supported USD 300 million (Rs 2,249 crore) CPHC under the Pradhan Mantri Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana (PM-ASBY), which is recently renamed to Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM).
ADB said the programme will promote increased utilisation of urban health and wellness centers (HWCs) and improve access to comprehensive primary health care in urban areas of 13 states.
It will benefit over 256 million (25.6 crore) urban dwellers including 51 million (5.1 crore) from slum areas.
“The JFPR grant will support activities to strengthen the capacity of project stakeholders to deliver accessible and quality urban CPHC services for non-communicable diseases besides supporting the pandemic response,” ADB said.
Key support areas include capacity building of national programme management unit under the ministry of health and family welfare (MOHFW), selected states and urban local bodies.
Besides, tools and implementation guidelines will be developed for strengthening CPHC throughout the programme.
It will also support community outreach, private sector participation and monitor the program implementation progress.
The TA will also support the Health Ministry to hold annual national conferences to disseminate innovative approaches and good practices and conduct annual regional workshops on selected public health themes.
JFPR was established in the year 2000 to support ADB projects that directly address the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable groups in Asia and the Pacific.
Since its establishment, JFPR has approved USD 963 million to 491 ADB projects (as of December 2020) that help bring people out of poverty, said the multi-lateral funding agency. (PTI)
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