India, April 20 -- WASHINGTON -The World Bank Group today announced an ambitious plan to support countries in delivering quality, affordable health services to 1.5 billion people by 2030. This is part of a larger global effort to provide a basic standard of care through every stage of a person's life-infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.

For decades, the World Bank Group has helped provide health services for women and children in more than 100 countries. A focused effort to become faster, work better with partners, and bring in the private sector has enabled the 80-year-old institution to pursue greater scale and impact.

The strategy to reach 1.5 billion people is focused on three core elements:

Expanding focus from maternal...