World Bank to Provide $280 Mn for Care of elderly, Vulnerable in Kerala

The Kerala Health System Improvement Program will build a more comprehensive health system resistant to climate shocks. It will also strengthen Kerala’s digital health systems through expanded eHealth services, integrated data platforms, and enhanced cybersecurity. It will support over 90 per cent of patients registered for hypertension and diabetes through individual electronic tracking mechanisms and establish a home-based care model for bedbound, homebound, and vulnerable elderly, to provide comprehensive health services.

A rising burden of non-communicable diseases like hypertension, diabetes, and cancer and a rapidly aging population has strained the health system. Moreover, there are gaps in emergency and trauma care with over 4,000 deaths in road traffic reported annually.

“The programme will ensure a 40 per cent increase in patients whose hypertension is controlled and 60 per cent increase in cervical and breast cancer screening for women to accelerate efforts to end preventable deaths,” Paul Procee, the World Bank’s Acting Country Director for India.

The programme will engage with local government bodies such as gram panchayats and municipal corporations to adopt standard protocols and procedures for antibiotic use and address zoonotic disease outbreaks by fast-tracking reliable laboratory information for patients. Primary health facilities in districts of Wayanad, Kozhikode, Kasaragod, Palakkad, and Alappuzha will also adopt climate-led solutions to improve energy efficiency and manage extreme heat and floods.

The $280 million loan from the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has a final maturity of 25 years with a grace period of five years.