For health sector development:

World Bank gives Rs. 2,760 million

The International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank will provide concessionary additional credit of Rs. 2,760 million (US$ 24 million) for Health Sector Development Project (HSDP) with particular emphasis on the special health needs in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.

Rs. 1,380 million has been allocated for the Northern and Eastern Provinces and Rs. 1,265 million has been allocated for other provinces. The balance Rs. 115 million has been allocated to strengthen the stewardship function of the Health Care and Nutrition Ministry. The IDA provided a grant of Rs. 5,760 million to implement the HSDP project in 2004 to improve efficiency, equity and quality of healthcare by strengthening planning, management of monitoring capacity at the District, Provincial and Central levels with a focus on supporting preventive care services at the District and Divisional levels.

The proposed additional credit will help finance the costs associated with originally planed activities, facing a financing gap due to the reallocation of part of the funds of the original IDA grant to Tsunami relief efforts and to Avian Influenza prevention.

Considering the special health needs in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, the World Bank has agreed to allocate a half of the additional funding for these two Provinces.

The project covers all the Provinces and the Districts and is scheduled to be completed by December 31, 2010.