India-ADB sign USD 300 million loan to improve healthcare access in urban areas

Highlights:

• Indian government and Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a loan agreement of 300 million U.S. dollars in order to improve primary health care in urban areas.
• This agreement was signed by Rajat Kumar Mishra, who is a senior official of the department of economic affairs and Takeo Konishi who is country director of ADB in India.
• The loan agreement will help in strengthening and improving access to comprehensive primary health care across urban areas in 13 states.
• It will benefit more than 256 million urban dwellers including 51 million from slum areas.
• This loan amount will be used for the program in order to strengthen pandemic preparedness and comprehensive primary health care in the urban areas.
• It also complements the government’s efforts of bridging health care gaps by strengthening operations, institutional capacity and management of urban health & wellness centers at municipal, state and central levels.
• This program will be implemented across urban areas in 13 states including Assam, Andhra Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh.
• It is noted that ADB is a regional development bank, established on December 19, 1966, headquartered in Manila, Philippines.