AGRATALA: The World Bank’s Board of executive directors, on Tuesday (June 27), approved a total of $391 million in financing to improve access to high-quality healthcare services and economic opportunities for people living in Assam and Tripura.
“The World Bank is committed to support the government of India’s development efforts in the Northeast region of the country,” said Auguste Tano Kouame, World Bank Country Director for India.
The Assam State Secondary Healthcare Initiative for Service Delivery Transformation (ASSIST) Project ($251 million) will improve access to high-quality secondary healthcare services in Assam and directly serve at least 1.8 million people.
The project will increase access to comprehensive emergency obstetric and new-born care services and improve treatment and management of non-communicable diseases.
The project will also upgrade up to 10 lower-level facilities to district hospitals in essential districts and strengthen the capacity of nurses and healthcare managers for better service delivery.
The Tripura Rural Economic Growth and Service Delivery Project ($140 million) aims to promote socioeconomic development and improve the quality of life of 142,000 households in select tribal blocks, territories where tribal communities live and work.
More than 400 kilometre of rural roads will be upgraded to all-weather roads, providing farmers and communities living in hilly and forested areas with greater access to markets.
Around 75,000 households will have improved livelihoods from climate-smart agriculture that will help to produce fruits and vegetables.
The project will also invest in learning outcomes for secondary school students by increasing enrolments for boys and skilling up teachers.
The investments made under this project will be instrumental in diversifying local economies, generating new jobs and skills, and directly contributing to human capital development, while also reducing vulnerability to the impacts of climate change.
The $251 million variable spread loan for Assam and $140 million loan for Tripura are from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) with a maturity of 10.5 years including a five-year grace period.