World Bank to lend $200m for dengue prevention

The World Bank (WB) will provide US$ 200 million in loan for dengue prevention and treatment in Dhaka and Chittagong city corporations as well as Savar and Tarabo municipalities amid higher prevalence of infected patients in these areas.

The fund will also be utilised for developing primary healthcare facilities there, especially for women and children.

Bangladesh is grappling with a deadly dengue outbreak, as heavy monsoon causes widespread infections. Hundreds of people have already died due to the dengue menace across the country.

The board of the Washington-based global lender approved the $200 million loan on Thursday.

After the loan approval, Abdoulaye Seck, WB Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, said: "Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in improving healthcare system, particularly in rural areas."

"But its urban areas have limited public healthcare facilities. Hence, poor people and slum dwellers are often forced to turn to more expensive private healthcare."

Further, with high population density, climate change, and rapid urbanisation, new health challenges are emerging, including an increased number of dengue cases along with other infectious and non-communicable diseases, he added.

The $200 million loan under the Urban Health, Nutrition and Population Project will be utilised to establish a network of primary health centres. It will offer a broad range of health, nutrition and population services along with a direct referral system with secondary and tertiary-level facilities.

Besides, about 2.5 million children under five years of age in the four urban areas will receive the healthcare services.

The WB-supported project will improve antenatal services for women, with a target of over 250,000 women receiving at least four checkups during their pregnancy.

It will also support hypertension screening and follow-up of about 1.3 million adults.

To reduce out-of-pocket expenditure on medical care for poor people, the project will renovate selected public healthcare facilities, including the government's outdoor dispensaries, and family planning clinics.

The project will also focus on environmental health and preventive services like mosquito control, medical waste management, and behaviour change communication - to promote a healthy lifestyle to prevent illnesses, and mitigate the effects of climate change and air pollution on human health.

It will support development and implementation of a multi-sectoral strategy to manage infectious disease outbreaks in the cities and municipalities.

To prevent dengue, the project will introduce a climate-based early dengue warning system and outbreak response capacities as well as take measures to clear breeding sites.

"The impact of climate change on mosquito-borne and infectious diseases is often overlooked. An overreliance on fogging or spraying - targeting adult mosquitoes and untargeted larva control - is not an efficient use of resources," said Iffat Mahmud, WB senior operations officer and the project's task team leader.

"As mosquito lifecycle is influenced by climatic conditions, the project will strengthen mosquito control laboratories as well as build capacities to implement innovative mosquito control measures and other community-based interventions."

The credit is provided from the WB's International Development Association (IDA) at 1.75 per cent interest. The concessional financing has a 30-year term and a five-year grace period.

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