New Delhi: India and the Asian Development Bank have signed a $300-million loan agreement to strengthen and improve access to comprehensive primary healthcare in urban areas of 13 States that will benefit over 256 million urban dwellers including 51 million from slum areas.

Interventions through the programme will promote increased utilization of urban Health & Wellness Centres (HWCs) with the provision of comprehensive primary healthcare packages including non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and community outreach services such as awareness-raising activities on healthcare options, particularly for women. The delivery and health information systems for primary healthcare will be upgraded through digital tools, s quality assurance mechanisms, p engagement, and partnership m 5 with the private sector.

"Ensuring equitable access to non-COVID-19 primary g healthcare is critical amid challenges posed by the pandemic to India's health system," said Takeo Konishi, Country Di n rector of ADB's India Resident Mission. He said that the programme complements the government's efforts to bridge the healthcare gaps by strengthening institutional capacity, operation, and management of urban health and wellness centres at the Central, State, and municipal levels.

Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance, Rajat Kumar Mishra signed the agreement from India's side for strengthening comprehensive primary healthcare and pandemic preparedness in urban areas programme, while Takeo Konishi signed for ADB.

Rajat Mishra said that the programme supports India's key health initiatives-Ayush man Bharat Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWC) and
Pradhan Mantri Aatmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana (PM- ASBY), which has been renamed as Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-AB- HIM) - by expanding availability and access to quality primary healthcare services, particularly for vulnerable populations in urban areas.

The programme will be implemented in urban areas across Andhra Pradesh, As- sam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat,
Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnata ka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and West Bengal.

It is supported by a $2-mil lion technical assistance grant from ADB's Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction to provide support for programme implementation and coordination, capacity building, innovation, knowledge-sharing, and application of scalable best practices across the healthcare system. - IANS