RAWALPINDI, Nov 23: The provincial health department has sought Rs1.98 billion ($33 million) assistance from the World Bank for improving health care system and setting up of a medical university in the province, official sources told Dawn.

The WB is learnt to have assured the provincial health minister, Prof Mehmood Ahmad Chaudhry, that it will provide the required assistance. The aid package is likely to be finalized early next year.

Prof Chaudhry told Dawn on Friday that the project was being evaluated by the Bank officials. A Bank delegation has also visited the health department headquarters in Lahore in connection with the appraisal of the project submitted by the department.

The sources said, Rs1.80 billion ($30m) had been requested for resuscitating the faulty health care system in the province. This assistance, they added, was required for upgrading the 67 Tehsil headquarter hospitals, rural health centres and basic health units.

According to the project, submitted by the department to the WB, it has been stated that the assistance would help in bringing clinical care imparted at the THQ hospitals at par with any major hospital in the country.

The project has already been started, as four model THQ hospitals are being upgraded. The government had allocated Rs200 million for this purpose in the annual development programme.

The upgraded hospitals, serving a population of 300,000 each, will be having five specialist departments, besides state- of-the-art diagnostic and therapeutic equipment.

The remaining Rs180 million, the sources said, were required as working capital for setting up the medical university, which was likely to become functional soon.

The WB officials have been told by the health department that the varsity already owns land worth Rs120 million and a fully furnished building set up with a cost of Rs200 million.

The varsity, the health department officials projected, would be producing 100 PhDs in medical sciences in next five to 10 years.

This assistance, the officials said, if provided, would help the varsity become fully self-sufficient. Besides the financial assistance, they said, the project submitted with the WB also sought technical assistance to maintain quality of medical education at the varsity.