Shillong, Mar 7: The World Bank has expressed admiration for the Meghalaya Health Systems Strengthening Project (MHSSP), lauding its progress in expanding healthcare access, enhancing infrastructure, and introducing innovative service delivery models.
The World Bank team recently conducted a mid-term review and noted that the project has made “significant strides in improving healthcare governance, service quality, and utilization.”

Since its launch in 2021, the MHSSP has made substantial progress in strengthening Meghalaya’s healthcare infrastructure. A total of 115 health facilities have been renovated, enhancing service delivery and improving compliance with quality standards. Additionally, the project has introduced a preventive maintenance manual, a pioneering effort in India, to ensure the sustainability of healthcare infrastructure improvements.

“Over the past three years, the Meghalaya Health Systems Strengthening Project has made significant strides, expanding implementation statewide. The project has successfully signed 122 Internal Performance Agreements (IPAs) with all planned institutions to enhance quality and management capacity,” the Bank said.

The Bank said an analysis of 46 health facilities revealed significant achievements. The average IPA score increased by 34 per cent in Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and 36 per cent in Community Health Centres (CHCs), surpassing the target of 15 per cent. Similarly, the National Quality Assurance Standards (NQAS) scores in various quality metrics across IPA facilities compared to non-IPA facilities confirm that IPAs positively impact service quality.

A comparative analysis of outpatient (OPD), inpatient (IPD), and delivery numbers was conducted for 46 institutions using health management information system (HMIS) data from 2021-22 and 2024-25. The results demonstrated significant improvements: OPD and IPD numbers increased in 41 and 32 facilities, respectively, and the number of deliveries increased in 34 facilities. This validates the project’s contribution to improving the utilization of health services.

Regarding the fund disbursement, it has shown significant achievements. “The midterm analysis of the Meghalaya Health Systems Strengthening Project shows significant.  With a total allocation of INR 1,269,000,000 (US$ 18.00 million) for IPA, the cumulative disbursement reached INR 519,139,073 (US$ 6.27 million), accounting for 35.34 per cent disbursement. Mid-term expenditure stands at INR 334,981,107.74 (US$ 4.049 million), representing 64.55 per cent of the disbursed amount. Although progress is below the planned disbursement, the expenditure has effectively improved health service quality and patient experience.

The State has implemented several initiatives under service delivery redesign (SDR) to enhance healthcare delivery. Key interventions include establishing transit homes, training doctors in CEmONC, Life Saving Anesthesia Skills (LSAS), and ultrasound, promoting the Mother App, and engaging communities through Village Health Committees (VHCs). “These efforts have prioritized the phased activation of first referral units (FRUs) and the adoption of solar energy in health facilities via PPPs”, the Bank said.

A notable innovation is the launch of the Drone Delivery Hub and Network, with a Drone Station at Jengjal Sub-divisional Hospital in West Garo Hills. “This initiative supports logistics for rural health facilities within a 50 km radius, providing routine and emergency deliveries of medical commodities. The ‘Reverse Logistics’ feature enhances efficiency by transporting samples and reports back to the Drone Station,” the Bank said. Currently, five to eight flights operate daily, serving 25 health facilities. The project aims to refine the manual indenting system and evaluate service outcomes for cost-benefit analysis, and the entire initiative has been mainstreamed within the health department for sustainability.

“Significant progress was achieved in developing communication products for Teenage Pregnancy and Maternal Mortality issues. The team launched the “ADOLESCENT Unfiltered” PODCAST, an innovative digital/social media platform that gained substantial traction among youth, with multiple episodes released on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. The podcast’s performance metrics were impressive, reaching 292,442 accounts on Instagram with 25,914 content interactions and achieving 813.4K views, 3.2M impressions, and 28.3K hours of watch time on YouTube,” the Bank said in its report.

Also Read: ₹29 lakhs released to families affected by fire incidents in 2024-25

Also Watch

Find latest news from every corner of Northeast India at hubnetwork.in, your online source for breaking news, video coverage.

Also, Follow us on-

Twitter-twitter.com/nemediahub

Youtube channel- www.youtube.com/@NortheastMediaHub2020

Instagram- www.instagram.com/ne_media_hub

Download our app from playstore – Northeast Media Hub