Mizoram to sign $108 million loan deal with ADB to strengthen public healthcare system

Aizawl, Dec 16 (PTI) The Mizoram government will soon sign a loan deal amounting to USD 108 million (about Rs 980 crore) with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to implement and strengthen public healthcare scheme in the state, a minister said on Tuesday.

The loan was approved by the ADB earlier this month under the 'Supporting Public Healthcare System Strengthening to Achieve Universal Healthcare for Mizoram' project, Health Minister Lalrinpuii said.

She said that 90 per cent of the loan amount will be repaid by the Centre, while the state government will repay 10 per cent within 15 years.

"Although the ADB has already approved the loan, an agreement will be signed when the Ministry of Finance fixes a date. As the Centre will repay 90 per cent of the loan amount, it will significantly reduce the state's expenses on the implementation of the Mizoram Universal Health Care Scheme (MUHCS)," Lalrinpuii told a news conference here.

Once the loan deal is signed, Rs 21 crore is expected to be released within a month based on the existing Disbursement Linked Indicator, she said.

The MUHCS was launched by the Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) government headed by Chief Minister Lalduhoma in March to provide Rs 5 lakh cover to beneficiaries for cashless treatment at government hospitals and empanelled private and church-run hospitals in a financial year. The scheme became operational in April.

According to Mizoram Health Care Society Chief Executive Officer Lalhriatzuali Ralte, a total of 65,193 families, including 36,323 families of government employees and 8,733 families of civil pensioners, have registered for the scheme in the current fiscal.

Additionally, over 2.20 lakh families, who registered under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Manti Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), are also eligible to avail the scheme, she said.

Lalrinpuii said that 59,602 beneficiaries have so far benefited from MUHCS and the government has spent over Rs 100 crore as healthcare expenses under the scheme. Around 68.56 per cent of the patients were treated at state-run hospitals where 43.47 per cent of the total healthcare expenses were incurred.

The minister said that the government is making massive efforts to improve healthcare system by improving infrastructure and manpower.

She said that Zoram Medical College & Hospital (ZMCH), the state's only such institute, has been upgraded with 520 beds and 40 cabins, and the existing 13 ICUs have been increased to 26 ICUs.

Aizawl Civil Hospital, the largest civil hospital in the state, is also being strengthened and upgraded with several facilities under Aizawl Smart City project, she said.

According to the health minister, kidney transplant will soon be conducted at Aizawl Civil Hospital as an operating theatre has been completed.

Nephrologists and other healthcare workers will undergo a training at a hospital in Kolkata in January next year after which kidney transplant will be conducted in the civil hospital, she said. PTI CORR NN