Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Rural population of Uzbekistan will have access to quality Primary and Secondary Health Care thanks to World Bank financing.

The World Bank’s Board of Directors today approved a US$93 million IDA credit for Uzbekistan’s Health System Improvement Project. The Project aims at modernizing the health care delivery system in order to provide more accessible quality and sustainable health services to the population; especially in rural areas. This will be done by expanding access to quality primary health care services; improving the quality, access to and financial sustainability of selected rural hospitals; and laying the groundwork for effective monitoring and control of non-communicable diseases (NCD).

The Project will support the implementation of the Government State Program “On main directions on further deepening of reforms and implementation of the State Program on Healthcare Development” by improving the linkages in health care service delivery from Primary Health Care to specialized care, and improving the quality of secondary care in rayons while increasing access and reducing self-referral to specialized hospitals in Tashkent.

As Mr. Takuya Kamata, the World Bank’s Country Manager for Uzbekistan says: “The project will assist the Government in scaling up major public health action through deepening ongoing health sector reforms within the context of the Government Welfare Improvement Program. It will address in a more systemic way the provision of quality hospital services to the country’s rural population and contribute to reforming the way those services are organized and paid for”.

The project has three major components:

• Improving Health Service Delivery focusing on hospital services improvement, primary health care development, clinical quality enhancement;
• Strengthening Health Financing and Management Reforms focusing on per capita based Primary Health Care financing, hospital payment system reforms at district level and Health Financing Information System
• Institutional Strengthening for NCD Prevention & Control

Uzbekistan joined the World Bank in 1992. The World Bank’s mission in the country is to improve people’s livelihoods through being a partner in economic reforms, supporting the modernization of the country’s social sectors and infrastructure, and sharing its knowledge and experience with the government and the people of Uzbekistan.

Total World Bank commitments to Uzbekistan made over US$1 billion.