Meghalaya Health Systems Strengthening Project

The Meghalaya Health Systems Strengthening Project aims to enhance the health facilities in the state of Meghalaya. The Government of India and the World Bank have signed an agreement of 40 million USD to implement the project. It was launched in November 2021.

About Meghalaya Health Systems Strengthening Project

• The project aims to improve the state capacity to handle health emergencies. This includes COVID-19 pandemic as well.
• It will expand the coverage of health insurance programmes in the state.
• It will improve efficient access to diagnostics and medicines.
• The project will invest in infection prevention. This will help to control future pandemics, outbreaks and health emergencies.
• The scheme is to augment the capacity of state insurance agencies.
• When the health services of a state are increased, the bio-medical wastes will also increase. Improper management of such bio-medical wastes pose environmental risks. Especially Meghalaya is a land with rich biodiversity. It has several wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, biosphere reserves. Therefore, the project will also invest in safe disposal of bio-medical wastes. This includes segregation, collection and disinfection.

Benefits

• The Meghalaya Health Systems Strengthening Project will benefit the health sector staff at primary and secondary levels. It will strengthen their planning capabilities and build their clinical skills.
• It will enable the women to utilise the health care services in a better way.
• The project will aid the state Government of Meghalaya to check on the quality of health services provided in the state.

Project aids MHIS scheme of Meghalaya

The project will help to strengthen the Megha Health Insurance Scheme of Meghalaya (MHIS). As of November 2021, the scheme covers 56% of the households in the state. Along with Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, the MHIS plans to offer a comprehensive package covering all the households in the state. With this, the out-of-pocket expenditure of the poor families is greatly reduced.

Fund allocation of the project

The project will adopt performance-based financing system. This will increase the accountability of the health subsidiaries of the state and central government. Under the project, Internal Performance Agreements will be signed between the Department of Health and Family Welfare and its subsidiaries to allocate funds.