GUWAHATI, Jan 11 — State Health Department has expressed its discontent over World Bank’s ‘No’ to Assam Health System Project aimed at strengthing secondary hospitals in the State. The project was submitted to the Central Government which had moved the World Bank to for funding. However the World Bank expressed its inability to take up the project immediately due to ‘security reasons’ much to the chagrin of the Assam Health Department. The State Health Minister Dr Bhumidhar Barman in his submission before Union Health Minister, Dr C P Thakur yesterday stated that World Bank’s reason for not funding project due to security reasons did not hold water at all as the situation in the State was not bad now. He urged Dr Thakur urge the Finance Ministry and World Bank to extend support to the project.
The State Health Minister sought special allocation from non-lapsable central poll of fund for NE States for improvement of healthcare infrastructure in the State as well as setting up of specialised care units in the State as a large number of population were forced to go outside the State for specialised treatment that is not available within the State. In his submission before the Union Health Minister, the State Minister, Dr Barman admitted that maternal care was the weaklink of the family welfare programme in the State and stated that the State needed extensive support for making FRUs functional and strengthen routine vaccination.