UNDP and PCMC join hands to improve healthcare service, process to recruit investors begins

The PCMC aims to transform primary, secondary and tertiary care service delivery and bring the 41 public healthcare facilities across the city at par with national and international standards, officials said.

The PCMC has floated the Request for Qualification (RFQ) to identify and qualify the potential social investors to get on board for the SIB, which is available on the PCMC website. (File)

The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) recently signed an MoU to co-create India’s first Social Impact Bond (SIB) in the city and have started the process to appoint risk investors.

The PCMC aims to transform primary, secondary and tertiary care service delivery and bring the 41 public healthcare facilities across the city at par with national and international standards, officials said. The SIB is designed to bring the transformation by strengthening infrastructure, people skills, processes and technology capabilities. It is the first time in India that an urban local body will act as an outcome funder, said Deputy Municipal Commissioner Anna Bodade.

According to the MoU, UNDP will provide technical assistance. Earlier this year, the Palladium Group was appointed as the design and implementation partner for the SIB. The PCMC has floated the Request for Qualification (RFQ) to identify and qualify the potential social investors to get on board for the SIB, which is available on the PCMC website. After thorough evaluation, a qualified social investor or investors will be appointed, who shall work closely with the implementation partner to implement the interventions identified and to achieve the pre-defined outcomes, officials said.

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Mayor Usha Dhore said, “The SIB is needed to strengthen the healthcare facilities in Pimpri-Chinchwad. Through the SIB, we will be able to provide quality healthcare at all the public healthcare facilities in the city. The proposal was taken up in the general body meeting in August 2021, wherein we sanctioned Rs 100 crore budget for the same.”

PCMC Commissioner Rajesh Patil said, “With the technical assistance from UNDP for India’s first Social Impact Bond, PCMC aims to improve processes, standardise the healthcare service delivery, upgrade the infrastructure and carry out capacity building of human resources to strengthen the overall healthcare services and eliminate the imbalances in utilisation of the facilities.”

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The UNDP and PCMC are now organising a road show for national and international philanthropic organisations as well as prospective impact investors and social investors who would be interested in partnering with PCMC to strengthen the health system in the city.

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Resident Representative at UNDP, Shoko Noda, said, “It has been a tremendously insightful experience designing the SIB in PCMC. It is encouraging to see the government move towards outcomes-based payment models, bringing in transparency and accountability. We are hopeful for the model to succeed and we look forward to replicating and scaling it up in other sectors, too.”

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