Soon Times Correspondent
LAHORE: In a significant step toward strengthening primary healthcare services in Punjab, the World Bank’s Implementation Support Mission for the National Health Support Program (NHSP) convened a high-level session to review program progress, reaffirm strategic priorities, and finalize the restructuring paper.
The meeting, chaired by Dr Jahanzeb Hussain Labar, Additional Secretary (Vertical Programs) and Project Director of NHSP, brought together senior officials from the World Bank, representatives of aligned health programs, and the NHSP team. The session reviewed progress on all eleven Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs), environmental and social safeguards, including the Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM), and the program’s procurement and financial performance.
Dr Jahanzeb informed the World Bank mission that the government has issued formal notifications for establishing Level-I Newborn Nursery Care Units at 44 Rural Health Centres (RHCs), one in each district. These units are expected to become operational within the current year and are aimed at reducing neonatal morbidity and mortality, especially in underserved and rural areas. He added that an integrated Referral Management System has been developed to link primary healthcare facilities with secondary and tertiary healthcare institutions, while a feedback mechanism for Emergency Medical Records (EMR) will soon be implemented across Punjab to improve continuity of care.
Providing further updates, Dr Jahanzeb shared that integrated TB screening clinics have been established at RHCs to enhance early detection and improve access to diagnostic services. These clinics are equipped to offer sputum microscopy, Xpert MTB/RIF testing, chest X-rays, and clinical evaluations. It is expected that the initiative will help detect an additional 56,000 TB cases annually, significantly strengthening the province’s TB control efforts.
He also briefed the mission on a range of other ongoing initiatives under NHSP, including efforts to increase immunisation coverage, upgrade the Health Information System, and implement the Community Health Inspector (CHI) model to improve healthcare outreach in remote areas. The program is also advancing work on a Learning Management System (LMS) to provide standardised training for healthcare providers and managers across Punjab.
The World Bank delegation was led by Mr Manav Bhattarai, Task Team Leader and Senior Health Specialist. The mission included technical experts from the World Bank and the Global Financing Facility (GFF), representing specialists in health systems, procurement, finance, social development, and environmental safeguards. The NHSP team, including Deputy Project Director Dr. Fawad Ahmed Iftikhar, Output-Based Budgeting Lead Umaid Faisal, Financial Management Specialist Khalil-ur-Rehman, Communication Specialist Karamat Ali, and other core team members, participated in the session.
During the meeting, respective program directors, including Dr. Sohail Ahmed (TB Control), Dr Khalil Ahmed (IRMNCH), Khalid Sharif (HISDU), Dr Samra Khurram (Expanded Program on Immunization), and the Deputy Secretary from the Development Wing of the Health and Population Department, presented updates on their DLIs, business plans, and implementation progress.
The session concluded with a mutual agreement between the World Bank team and NHSP leadership on the proposed restructuring of the program, with the objective of enhancing its performance and deepening its impact on primary healthcare delivery across Punjab.
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