Why in news? World Bank to lend $1 billion to support India’s health sector.

Highlights

• The World Bank is lending up to $1 billion to help India with preparedness for future pandemics as well as to strengthen its health infrastructure
• The lending will be divided into two complementary loans of $500 million each.
• Combined financing will support India’s flagship Pradhan Mantri-Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM), launched in October 2021, to improve the public healthcare infrastructure across the country.
• The $500-million Public Health Systems for Pandemic Preparedness Programme (PHSPP) will support the government’s efforts to prepare India’s surveillance system to detect and report epidemics of potential international concern.
• Another $500-million Enhanced Health Service Delivery Programme (EHSDP) will support government’s efforts to strengthen service delivery through a redesigned primary healthcare model, that includes improved household access to primary healthcare facilities, stronger links between each household and its primary care facility through regular household visits and risk assessment of non-communicable diseases.