Population, health and nutrition : FY88 annual sector review

This paper review PHN lending for FY88. PHN lending rebounded in FY88 to $ 304.9 million for eight projects, a 50 percent increase in volumeover the previous five year average. Lending for health predominated, while population lending accounted for 27 percent of the total. Interest in nutrition increased, but nutrition lending received little emphasis (except in connection with structural adjustment). Important trends included increased attention to project software, continued support for decentralization of health systems, more efforts to involve the private sector in delivering PHN services, more emphasis on health costs and financing, development of new ways to reach clients at periphery, and more emphasis on focused projects. If lending to PHN sectors is to increase from its current low level of 2 to 3 percent of Bank lending to 5 percent or more, current staff resources are inadequate. There is a shortfall in PHN staff resources of about 20 staff years to meet the targeted level of 12 to 14 projects and $ 500 million a year in PHN lending.