Tk 10cr Japanese grant for obstetric care services

Japan supported the Bangladesh initiative to strengthen the emergency obstetric care under Japanese grant assistance in 2001 and 2003 with a total amount of 831 million yen (approximately Tk 52 crore), according to an embassy release issued yesterday.

The amount covered the cost of procurement of medical equipment and machinery. However, the floods of 2004 had caused massive damage to such machinery and equipment in many hospitals.

The Japanese government approved the amount for procurement of spare parts of the equipment and machinery to carry out repairs on them, the release added.

The Japanese Counterpart Fund is generated from the Debt Relief Grant Aid (DRGA) and the KR Food Aid. The Japanese government provided DRGA for eligible debtor countries, including Bangladesh, in return for repayment of their ODA debts.

The total amount of DRGA provided to Bangladesh was about 256.8 billion yen (approximately Tk 15,100 crore).

The Japanese ambassador expressed his hope that this assistance will make a significant contribution to better functioning of the equipment and machinery and emphasised the sustainability of the project under Japanese grant assistance.