The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : DFID sanctions 320 cr. to reform health sector

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 11, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

DFID sanctions 320 cr. to reform health sector

Special Correspondent

UK body to aid revamp of medicare as the system is found to be ‘suffering from many gaps’

DFID already releases Rs. 75 crore from the total grant, to be spread over 3 years
Joint panel of DFID and government officials to oversee implementation

HYERABAD: The Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom has sanctioned the equivalent of Rs. 320 crore (40 million pounds) to the State government for implementing reforms in the health sector so that quality medicare is provided to the people, especially the poor.

Reforms have been proposed in the health sector, as the system is found to be “suffering from many gaps”.

Major measures

These gaps will be filled through four major measures — training and redeployment of existing manpower, building efficient financial management, decentralised planning for proper delivery of essential health care and accelerated campaign against TB, malaria, ASIDS and other diseases.

Health & Family Welfare Minister S. Chandrasekhar said the revamp project, named AP Health Sector Reforms Programme (APHSRP), would be formally launched by Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy here on Tuesday.

The DFID had already released Rs. 75 crore from the grant.

Joint ventures

The Minister told reporters on Monday that the DFID had not prescribed any conditions while sanctioning the grant.

Admitting that the Health Department was being trifurcated, he maintained that this was not being done to fulfil any conditions of the DFID. He said public-private joint ventures would be a hallmark of the reforms as, projects like Rajiv Arogyasri, being implemented in coordination with Satyam Computers, would be encouraged wherever necessary.

Anil Punetha, Commissioner, Family Welfare, who has been designated as CEO of APHSRP and Shailaja Ramayyar, director, Strategies Performance and Innovation, said the grant would be spent over a period of three years. A joint technical committee of DFID and government officials would oversee the implementation.

A consultant would be appointed, as wanted by DFID, on payment of 2 per cent of the grant as consultancy fee, to suggest ways to further modernise the system with the introduction of state-of-art technology.

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