Punjab seeks World Bank loan for children health.

Byline: Amin Ahmed

ISLAMABAD -- The PunAjab government is seeking a loan of $200 million from a World Bank-affiliate, the International DeveAlopment Association, to launch a project to meet early child health challenges in the province, it emerged on Saturday.

The "supporting human capital accumulation in Punjab by early investment" project is expected to be approved by the World Bank executive board in February next year.

Project related information released by the WB says that the project is one in a set of WB supported federal and provincial operations in the country.

The human capital challenges faced in early childhood, which is a critical life stage for human capital accumulation, are disproportionately high among low-income households and lagging behind regions in Punjab, according to the project document.

Punjab is home to about 48 per cent of the country's poor and inequality remains a challenge in the province, states the project document. A large proportion of the province's population is clustered around the poverty line and thus remains vulnerable to poverty, especially during shocks such as floods and climate change-induced disasters or economic crisis.

Punjab's inequality is not only in terms of incomes but also in opportunities for human capital investment, details the project. There are large variations in poverty rates across districts, and in human capital indicators by...