MANILA, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday said it has approved a 398.8-million-U.S.-dollar loan to support the state of Assam in India in transforming its health care and medical education systems.
The ADB said the project will modernize Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) into a state-of-the-art super-specialty facility and upgrade Assam Medical College and Hospital and Silchar Medical College and Hospital, creating a network of centers of excellence under Srimanta Sankaradeva University of Health Sciences.
Key project components include modernizing GMCH with climate- and disaster-resilient, gender-responsive infrastructure and digital hospital systems, and upgrading medical education through smart classrooms, simulation-based training, and curriculum reforms that integrate gender and climate considerations.
In addition, the project will strengthen institutional capacity by establishing centers of excellence, promoting research, forming gender-equality groups, facilitating private-sector participation in hospital services, and developing a medical tourism strategy. ■