US$70mn from World Bank to improve local services in rural Sri Lanka
ECONOMYNEXT – The World Bank said it has approved a loan of 70 million US dollar to improve the quality of life of around one million people living in parts of Sri Lanka with pockets of poverty.
“The new local development project will put local communities at the center of planning and delivery of essential services such as roads, healthcare and sanitation through closer collaboration with local government authorities,” a statement said.
“This project will also pilot the provision of infrastructure services that will promote local economic activities and livelihoods – including roads and drains, markets, water supply, minor irrigation, IT connectivity, and rural electrification.”
The project covers the Northern, North Central, Eastern and Uva Provinces in Sri Lanka where pockets of poverty prevail, despite the island doing well in poverty reduction over the years with a national poverty rate of 4.1 percent in 2016.
A recent World Bank study of socio-economic conditions in the North and East found many factors challenging development in these areas, the statement said.
These include weak community institutions, gender vulnerabilities, especially among female headed households, trauma symptoms and risk behavior of youth and affected populations.
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