India ink 'Financing Agreement' with World Bank for 'Nagaland Health Project'

New Delhi [India], Jan. 17(ANI): The Government of India, the Government of Nagaland and the World Bank have signed a massive 48 million dollars credit agreement for the 'Nagaland Health Project,' which aims to improve health services across the state. The agreement for the project was signed by Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of India; L. Watikala, Principal Director, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Nagaland; and Genevieve Connors, Program Leader and Acting Country Director, World Bank India, on behalf of the World Bank. Credit for the project, which was approved on December 19, 2016, is from the International Development Association (IDA) - the World Bank's concessionary lending arm - with a maturity of 25 years, including a 5-year grace period. The total cost of the project, according to the World Bank is 60 million dollars, with the IDA providing 48 million dollars, and the borrower i.e. the Government of India committing the remaining 12 million dollars. The multimillion dollar health project aims to empower village health committees to deliver better health service delivery across the state and strengthen existing health systems and public health facilities. This will include capacity-building and results-based financing for village health committees, who are responsible for local health services, to improve services as well as enhance the knowledge and awareness of their communities. The project will also invest in improving health services in 177 facilities, including through water and sanitation and off-grid electricity backup. The project aims to strengthen statewide health system components, including information, procurement and supply chain management, and human resource management systems. The objectives of the project are to improve health services and increase their utilization by communities in targeted locations in Nagaland. Communities in targeted locations will benefit from project activities at the community and health facility levels while the population of the state as a whole will benefit from improvements in higher-level facilities as well as system-wide investments. The project will directly benefit about 600,000 people. It will support and complement existing systems and mechanisms involving communities under the National Health Mission. The closing date of Nagaland health Project is March 31st, 2023.(ANI)