The Primary Health Care System Strengthening Project (PSSP) of the World Bank which is now in progress in Sri Lanka at a cost of US$ 191 million will focus on preventing and controlling Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in the community, PSSP Director Dr. Jayasundara Bandara said.
He told the media in Colombo yesterday that US$ 58 million has been disbursed so far and the rest of the funds will be disbursed this year, next year and in 2023. This year around US$ 98 million will be disbursed for the project.
Arrangements will be made to identify people suffering from NCDs and follow it up to ensure their safety under the project.
The primary health care system will be prepared to do this task through nearly 1,000 Suwa Divi Saayana (Healthy Life Clinics) islandwide.
According to Dr. Bandara, the Project Development Objective (PDO) is to increase the use and quality of primary health care services, with emphasis on the detection and management of NCDs in high-risk population groups in selected areas of the country.
It is expected to attract more people over the age of 35 to Healthy Life Clinics, have their NCDs diagnosed and keep them healthy through regular monitoring. It has three components. The first component - Reorganisation of the Primary Health Care (PHC) system and strengthening strategies will support the Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine (MoH) and the provinces to implement the PHC system reorganisation and strengthen strategies through routine health sector planning and budget execution systems.