WB approves $46m for KP’s child healthcare services

ISLAMABAD: The World (WB) has approved $46 million to help increase access to child healthcare services and enhance citizen-centered service delivery in selected districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The WB’s Board of Executive Directors approved the financing under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Citizen Centered Service Delivery Project.

According to WB press statement, the project would support both supply and demand side interventions to improve health service delivery in the province, as well as the operations of citizen-centric administrative facilitation centers in the Newly Merged Districts.

“The Project will support the government in expanding the provision of Child Wellness Grants targeted at mothers, provided they attend health awareness sessions”, said Najy Benhassine, World Bank Country Director for Pakistan. “It will also help improve access to quality child health-related services,” Benhassine added.

Nearly 300,000 children under the age of two will benefit from Child Welfare Grants (CWGs), the statement said.

To mitigate the financial barriers associated with the use of these services, families of these children will receive Rs.12,500 (approximately US$45), spread over five visits, for attending the health awareness sessions and growth monitoring of their child.

The project will also support the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government in the adoption of the one-window operation model of the Citizen Facilitation Centers (CFC) to promote essential service delivery to the local population.

The CFCs, in addition to the provision of Child Wellness Grants, offer vital services to the local communities such as registration services including recording of birth, death, marriage, divorce, family registration etc. 560,000 individuals will be utilizing the services provided at the CFCs.

“The project will facilitate the transition of the program to the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, bridging the continuity of the activities under the 40 CFCs already established with the support of the Federal Government,” said Amjad Zafar Khan, Task Team Leader for the project.