ADB provides Pakistan $100mn to improve KPK healthcare sector

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) inked a financing agreement worth $100 million with Pakistan’s government to improve healthcare in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) on Friday.

The ‘Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Systems Strengthening Program' agreement was signed by Secretary, Ministry of Economic Affairs Dr Kazim Niaz and ADB’s Country Director, Pakistan Resident Mission, Yong Ye, read a ministry statement.

An agreement was also signed between the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and ADB for the implementation of the programme.

The results-based loan programme will help improve the delivery of health services at secondary hospitals by modernising infrastructure and equipment; ensuring clinical protocols, standards, and guidelines are implemented; and improving human resources planning and medicine supply chain management, said the ministry.

Release of $1.5bn by ADB confirmed

The program aims to transform Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Secondary Healthcare (SHC) System by upgrading infrastructure of 33 existing SHC facilities, providing quality equipment and ensuring posting and availability of medical, technical, and administrative staff.

It will also help with efficient outsourcing of certain services to the private sector, introducing and enhancing health management information systems including electronic medical records, and introducing quality assurance regimes.

It is estimated that the programme will benefit some 38 million people, including women in need of maternal healthcare services, and will reduce infant and maternal mortality rates.

Last month, ADB approved $1.5 billion in financing to help the government of Pakistan provide social protection, promote food security, and support employment for its people amid devastating floods and global supply chain disruptions.

The loan, provided under ADB’s Building Resilience with Active Countercyclical Expenditures (BRACE) Programme, will help fund the government’s $2.3 billion countercyclical development expenditure program designed to cushion the impacts of external shocks, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Moreover, $475 million were also repurposed from the existing development for rehabilitation and reconstruction of flood-affected infrastructure in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh.