Baku, Azerbaijan, April 26
By Fikret Dolukhanov – Trend:
The Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank approved granting Uzbekistan $100 million for a project to improve the emergency medical services (EMS) system, the Bank told Trend on April 26.
According to the information, the finances will be provided from the resources of the International Development Association, a member of the WB group.
“The project to improve the EMS system is the fourth investment project of the bank in the country in 2018. The total amount of bank’s investments for the first four months of 2018 amounted to $940 million. The improved system will be able to provide qualified assistance to about six million patients a year,” head of the World Bank office in Uzbekistan Hideki Mori said.
The projects will mostly first of all help patients with various injuries, who are in urgent condition and in cases of emergency birth giving. Hospitals across the country will receive the necessary technical assistance to effectively respond to such situations.
“Within the framework of the project, complex dispatch centers will be opened in 12 provinces of Uzbekistan and in Tashkent, which will be responsible for processing calls, coordinating emergency medical aid vehicles, and supervising the activities of their brigades. Their main element will be a unified automated management and communication system that controls the distribution and availability of resources for a quick and effective response to incidents,” the bank representative noted.
The funds will also be used to upgrade the skills of doctors and nurses, purchase about 60 modern emergency medical aid vehicles, as well as the necessary equipment to help patients.
According to the World Bank, the project will reduce the treatment response time, mortality and negative health consequences of patients, and increase the confidence of Uzbek citizens in the quality of EMS.
The World Bank is currently financing 17 different projects in Uzbekistan, totaling over $2.8 billion. The projects improve efficiency of agriculture and water management, energy, transport, health, education, urban development, water supply and sanitation.
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