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Partial suspension on HPSP funds withdrawn

UNB, Dhaka
World Bank and pool financing development partners have withdrawn the partial suspension on their pooled funds for the Health and Population Sector Programme (HPSP), said a World Bank press release here yesterday.
The fund suspension, imposed on May 2, 2003 due to project-related default, particularly in the areas of sectoral reforms, has been withdrawn with effect from July 4, 2003 based on their concurrence on the government's proposed alternative action plan for the health and population sector, said the release.
It said the government has
recently prepared a comprehensive plan of action to carry forward an alternative reform agenda to achieve the intended objectives for the health and population sector.
The bank and other pool financiers — the European Commission, the Netherlands, SIDA and DFID — have welcomed the alternative plan as a good basis to sustain external support to the sector.
The public sector financing accounts for just a third of the country's total health expenditure with the non-public sector playing an increasingly important role in the provision of health service.
In view of these realities, the government stated that improving the regulatory and enabling environment of private and NGO service providers along with mechanism to give intended beneficiaries of government health expenditure a better choice of provider would be the key to achieving better access to essential services for the poor, lower maternal mortality and continued improvement in child health and family planning.
According to this new plan, the government will continue its present allocation of 65 per cent of financial resources to the Essential Service Package.
It will set up mechanisms to implement pro-poor allocation of financial and human resources and establish means to identify the poor for subsidy transfer.
The World Bank press release said a framework for contracting out delivery of essential services at union and community levels will be coupled with a system of provider accreditation to improve the quality of service provision. A number of community health insurance schemes will be evaluated before a strategy for scaling up of such scheme is prepared.
According to the new plan, the government will undertake study focusing on expenditure, tracking leakage of commodities, doctor absenteeism and the extent to which informal fees hinder access to services, especially for women and the poor.
To improve efficiencies in the public services, the government will review work practices within the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and redefine the role and responsibilities of staff to better execute the ministry's new mandate.
The government will also implement the approved Decentralisation Action Plan and will finalise draft legislation for a hospital antonym bill, which will be placed in parliament for its consideration.
The development partners consider the reform agenda as substantive and fully in line with the government interim property reduction strategy, and expect that the successful execution of these actions will provide a good foundation for further collaboration between the government and the development partners, the release added.