The World Bank approved yesterday a concessionary loan of US $ 200 million to Sri Lanka for the Second Health Sector Development Project (SHSDP) to help the Sri Lankan government to upgrade the standards of performance of the public health system and enable it to better respond to the challenges of a middle income country. The project is expected to benefit the whole population of 21 million people, especially the poorer and more vulnerable population groups who depend more on public health services. Those who will benefit directly from this project are those vulnerable to; under-nutrition, maternal and childcare problems, persons affected with continuing, emerging and re-emerging communicable diseases (tuberculosis, dengue, leptospirosis, HIV/AIDS; rabies and other zoonotic diseases); and persons with acute and chronic non-communicable diseases like injuries, heart diseases, strokes, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cancers and mental disorders. “Investing in further improvement of the health system will be a critical pre-requisite for Sri Lanka’s vision as reflected in the Mahinda Chintana,” said World Bank Sri Lanka Country Director Diarietou Gaye. “A more modernised and efficient health system employing more international standards will not only help achieve the objective of improving living standards and social inclusion, but it will also contribute to the broader objectives set out in Mahinda Chintana document, including sustained economic growth, and a move towards a knowledge-based and competitive economy,” she said. The World Bank has supported the Sri Lankan health sector through analytical work and International Development Association (IDA) credits/grants since the late 1980s with the most recent being the Health Sector Development Project (HSDP) from 2004 to 2010. That project contributed to improving service delivery across the country and building system capacity at the central, provincial and district levels. “The current health system needs improvements to deal effectively with emerging health problems of a middle-income country such as ours,” said World Bank Senior Health Specialist Kumari Vinodhani Navaratne. “Developing a modern health management information system, establishment of a quality assurance system, strengthening the capacity for results based planning and management and strengthening the coordination between institutions and agencies for coordinated development and continuing human resource development are essential to improve the health system and better address the changing health needs of Sri Lanka,” she said.