WHO, ADB to help NE rehabilitation

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 August 2002, 13:51 GMT]
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Tuesday announced that it has allocated four thousand million rupees for the rehabilitation of war ravaged Jaffna district. The money will be spent on rehabilitating schools, medical institutions and housing in the peninsula, ADB officials said.

ADB official Mr.M.Thiruchelvam said at a conference held Tuesday morning at the Jaffna zonal education office that rehabilitation of damaged schools and other facilities will begin immediately at a cost of eighty four million rupees as first phase.

The conference was attended by the North East Provincial Director of Education Mr.I.M.Issadeen, Director of Education (Primary) Mr.Muthu Sivagnanam and several other officials.

26.8 million rupees have been allocated to repair the damaged school buildings in the Chavakachcheri zone, and 23.6 million rupees for Vadamaradchi zone. 16.5 million rupees will be spent for repairing hospitals at Maruthankerni and Chavakachcheri. A sum of rupees 2.9 million has been allocated for the repair of Kaithady Home for the Aged, the officials said.

The ADB team, which came to Jaffna Tuesday by road left after inspecting schools at Vasavilan and Tellipalai which are in the high security zone close to the Palaly army main base, sources in Jaffna said.

Meanwhile the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tuesday said it has prepared a comprehensive report regarding the needs in the sphere of health in the war ravaged Northeast Province of the country.

The Sri Lanka resident representative of the WHO said this Tuesday at an event held at the Ministry of Health after donating medical equipments and a stock of medicines to the hospitals in the province.

The Minister of Health Mr.P.Dayaratne received the donation, valued at twenty three thousand US dollars. The WHO donated these items with the assistance of the International Development Association (IDA).

The WHO resident representative further said that such assistance would be provided to Northeast Province hospitals in future also.