Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami launched the Tamil Nadu Health System Reform Programme (TNHSRP) in Chennai on Tuesday. The Programme will be implemented with funding support from the World Bank.
The Programme aims at achieving result-oriented outcomes in healthcare delivery and over a five-year period, aims to improve the quality of care, strengthen the management of non-communicable diseases (NCD) and injuries, and reduce the inequities in reproductive and child health services in the State. The total cost of the programme is ₹2,857.003 crore, of which ₹1,999.902 crore is being funded by the World Bank.
Mr. Palaniswami said that through the project, the State which is already a leader in healthcare in India, aims to provide healthcare on par with developed nations. He said facilities in government hospitals and primary health centres will be enhanced, ambulance services upgraded and a suicide prevention hotline will be set up. “By 2030 we want to reduce maternal mortality rate in the State, which is already low compared to the rest of the country, to 30,” he said.
Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam said with the implementation of the TNHSRP, government hospitals will be able to provide health services on par with the best private hospitals. Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar explained some of the features of the Programme.
Dr. Junaid Kamal Ahmed, Country Director, World Bank, lauded Tamil Nadu’s healthcare system and said the Bank through this programme supports moves towards quality of health, deals with NCDs and last-mile delivery to close equity gaps. He said the World Bank was bringing in global expertise and capacity support and this was the first Program-for-Results (PforR) project for the Bank in India and the first for Tamil Nadu.
“We hope Tamil Nadu becomes the lighthouse for supporting health reforms across India. The biggest partner for World Bank for all projects across India is Tamil Nadu,” he added.
The proposed activities under the Programme include improving quality of care in all government health institutions, including interventions to address quality of care in primary, secondary and tertiary-level facilities, NQAS and NABH quality accreditation of select hospitals and primary health centres, interventions for screening, diagnosis, treatment and management of NCDs, an improved mental health programme, reduction of deaths due to road traffic accidents and strengthening of reproductive and child health programmes.
