Japan grants over Rs. 280 m in assistance to provide school meals in Northern Province
Thursday, 28 November 2013 00:00
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The Government of Japan has granted approximately Rs. 282 million (220 million yen) to Sri Lanka as food grant assistance through the World Food Program (WFP) to support the ongoing School Meals Program in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka.
The Ministry of Economic Development will oversee the distribution of the food assistance, the Government Media Unit said.
Japan has provided grant assistance amounting to approximately Rs. 180 million in previous years to support a nutrition program in the north as there was much concern about the nutrition levels of the resettled IDPs, especially children.
The need for continuation of the nutrition program for children still exists, since children need good nutrition for proper physical growth and also to perform well at school, the announcement said.
As part of this food grant assistance, Japan will supply canned fish. The grant assistance will be mutually beneficial to both Japan and Sri Lanka. Japan hopes this assistance would progress the living conditions of the children in the north and also further strengthen the long-standing friendship between two countries.
The signing of the grant agreement took place in Rome yesterday between Ambassador of Japan to Italy Masaharu Kohno and WFP Deputy Chief Operating Officer Amir Abdulla.
