The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has given its approval for a loan package of Rs 4168.46 crore aimed at enhancing access to high-quality and affordable tertiary health care as well as medical education in Maharashtra, as stated in an official announcement.
Collaborating closely with the state government of Maharashtra, ADB is aiming to ensure accessible and affordable tertiary health care for all by 2030, along with strengthening the capabilities of qualified medical professionals, as highlighted by Nishant Jain, ADB Health Specialist.
The programme involves implementing essential policy reforms to fortify the state’s tertiary health care and medical education. Additionally, it will extend medical education and health services to bring modern medical facilities to underserved regions within the state, according to a press release from the regional development bank on Thursday.
The release further details the construction of four medical colleges linked to tertiary care teaching hospitals, designed with climate and disaster resilience, gender responsiveness and social inclusivity features specifically in underserved districts. This initiative aims to augment bed capacity in government tertiary care hospitals and recruit a minimum of 500 new doctors for the establishment of four new governmental medical colleges.
In an effort to integrate gender and social inclusion into medical education, ADB expressed its commitment to supporting the state in establishing a gender unit under the Medical Education and Drugs Department, as mentioned in the statement.