WASHINGTON, April 18, 2024 — The World Bank Group has unveiled an ambitious initiative aimed at extending quality, affordable health services to 1.5 billion individuals by the year 2030. This endeavor forms a crucial part of a broader global endeavor to ensure a fundamental standard of care across all stages of life, spanning infancy through adulthood.
With a rich legacy of aiding in the provision of health services for women and children in over 100 nations, the World Bank Group has undertaken a focused approach to enhance efficiency, accelerate processes, and foster stronger collaborations with partners, including the private sector. These efforts have empowered the venerable institution, established 80 years ago, to pursue greater scalability and impact.
The strategy to reach 1.5 billion people is anchored on three principal pillars:
- Expanding the scope of health services from maternal and child health to encompass coverage throughout an individual’s lifespan, addressing non-communicable diseases as well.
- Extending operations to include underserved areas, such as remote villages, urban centers, and nations facing significant challenges.
- Collaborating with governments to reduce unnecessary charges and financial barriers to accessing healthcare.
To contribute to this milestone, individuals must receive care from a healthcare provider through either in-person consultations or telehealth services.
Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group, emphasized, “Ensuring a basic standard of care for individuals across their lifespan is pivotal for development. Achieving this ambition necessitates collective efforts, with public and private sector stakeholders working in tandem to broaden access to healthcare services.”
Presently, approximately 2 billion individuals encounter significant financial strain when seeking healthcare services. Interconnected challenges, such as climate change, pandemics, conflicts, demographic shifts, and a projected shortage of 10 million healthcare workers by 2030, perpetuate cycles of poverty and inequality.
To address these multifaceted challenges, the World Bank Group will leverage financing, expertise, and partnerships.
The Bank’s diverse financing instruments will be tailored to meet the unique needs and developmental stages of each country, with IDA financing supporting health interventions in the most vulnerable nations and IBRD financing incentivizing government investments in healthcare and regulatory frameworks in middle-income countries.
Robust partnerships will be pivotal for the World Bank Group to realize its health objectives. The institution underscores the importance of close collaboration with non-governmental organizations, the private sector, and civil society to accelerate progress.
The initiative to extend quality, affordable health services to 1.5 billion people by 2030 exemplifies the World Bank Group’s commitment to achieving tangible impact and underscores its concerted efforts to enhance its effectiveness as a development institution.
