World Bank Approves $24 Mn Loan To Sri Lanka

The World Bank has approved a US$24-million International Development Association (IDA) credit to Sri Lanka to improve healthcare, with particular emphasis on the special health needs of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in north and east, arising out of the recent civil conflict, reports say.

World Bank Country Director for Sri Lanka Naoko Ishii said half the amount (US$12 million) would be to meet the special health needs of the conflict-affected Sri Lankans in the Northern and Eastern provinces. About 280,000 IDPs currently are housed in temporary camps.

Stating that the IDA credit reflected the Bank’s commitment to addressing consequences of the conflict whenever it could, he said an upcoming health needs assessment for the north and east would determine the specific activities the project would finance. It could include mobile clinics at IDP camps, rehabilitation of the disabled, treatment of traumatized persons and other immediate priorities, Ishii added.

The US$24 million credit, besides the IDA grant of US$60 million approved in 2004 to the Health Sector Development Project (HSDP), has 20 years to maturity with a 10-year grace period.

The project will continue to support the decentralization of health service delivery, including the strengthening of district and provincial capacity for planning and implementation of health programs, the Bank said in a statement. It would also support efforts to improve service delivery and renovate health facilities, provide training for health workers, and provision of medical supplies and equipment, it added.

Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has directed Pakistan’s High Commissioner in Sri Lanka to present a cheque of US dollar 70,000 as donation to the Sri Lankan government for supply of medical items for IDPs in Sri Lanka, under the Special Assistance Programme for South Asia (SAPSA) Fund. The government of Sri Lanka had requested the international community including Pakistan for assistance in addressing the humanitarian situation arising out of armed conflict with LTTE in the North.