DIMAPUR, June 1 - First of its kind in Northeastern region, Nagaland Health Project that also includes Malaria Elimination (NVBDCP), Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) and Jan Aushadhi (Generic Drugs) for 11 districts of the State was launched at Capital Convention Centre at Kohima today in presence of Minister for Health and Family Welfare P Longon. This is the first State-level project funded by World Bank.
Delivering the keynote address in the launching programme, Operations Officer, World Bank, Amith Nagaraj Bhatulla, said it took almost five years with many challenges both at the Centre and State in preparing the project. He called upon the Nagaland Health and Family Welfare department to harness the highest level of participation from other departments for the success of the project.
Speaking on the technical aspects of the project, Nutrition Specialist, World Bank, Mohini Kak stated that the project is the first of its kind in North East. The World Bank, she said, has never been into any State specific project prior to Nagaland Health Project, which has been designed and will be implemented by Nagaland Government.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister Longon expressed hope that the project will assist the department in improving the health services and undertaking activities that will contribute to the improvement of health facilities for all sections of the society in the State. He appealed to the World Bank and the Government of India to consider the options for extension of the programme from the current 5-6 years.
Pointing out that there has been significant improvement at Nagaland Health Project implementation sites, the Minister called for strengthening the government health services and empowering the communities to fill the absence of any strong private sector for healthcare delivery in the rural areas.
The project aims to improve health services and increase their utilisation by communities in targeted locations in Nagaland. The duration of the project is 5-7 years. The total financial outlay of the project is US $60 million (Rs 390.50 crore) which includes external assistance of US $48 million (Rs 312.50 crore) and share of the State Government of US $12 million (Rs 78 crore).
