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Japan Funds $30 Mln for Medical Improvement of Balkh Hospitals
KABUL – Grant contracts for the projects funded by Japan were signed and exchanged Wednesday between Foreign Minister Dr. Zalmai Rasoul and Mr. Reiichiro Takahashi, Ambassador of Japan in Afghanistan, in the presence of Dr. Nadera Hayat Burhani, Deputy Minister of Public Health. The details of the projects are as follow: 1- Non-Project Grant Aid for the Japanese fiscal year 2010 with the amount of two billion eight hundred million Japanese Yen (\2,800,000,000), equivalent to approximately 30 million US dollar. 2- The Project for Improvement of Medical Equipments for the Provincial Hospital of Balkh with a grant of one billion thirty-six million Japanese Yen (1,036,000,000), equivalent to approximately 11 million US dollar. Non-Project Grant Aid (NPGA) program is aimed at reducing the vulnerability and weakness of the economic structure of the country. Japan has so far provided 17.4 billion Japanese Yen in total, which is approximately 185 million US dollar, to the Government of Afghanistan in the form of this Non-Project Grant Aid (NPGA), and with this year’s assistance the total amount of the contribution reaches almost 215 million US dollar. The grant has been used for purchasing diesel oil to meet the dire need of energy sources for the people of Afghanistan and its economy. The diesel oil purchased with this Grant Aid is sold in the local market at a reasonable price. Over 50% of the revenues from the sales are to be saved in a fund managed by the Ministry of Finance, which is called “the Counterpart Fund (CPF)”. The CPF is to be utilized for various priority projects for economic and social development. In the past, the CPF was used to support the National Area-Based Development Program (NABDP), construction of the new Kabul International Airport Terminal and provision of police vehicles and others. The second is the Project for Improvement of Medical Equipments for the Provincial Hospital of Balkh. The equipments and facilities, which Japan will provide, include those for emergency admission, surgery and laboratory diagnostics. The hospital is currently under reconstruction by a support of the German government and will have 360 beds in the 14,000㎡ building. This project has its importance for the people of Afghanistan, contributing directly to the population of 350,000 in the city of Mazar-e Sharif as a central hospital and for 1.2 million people in Balkh Province with the improved facilities as well as diagnostic and treatment capacity. It also benefits up to 6 million citizens as a referral hospital to the neighboring regions in the North of the country. The Government of Japan has so far contributed approximately 2.5 billion US dollar in support of Afghanistan’s reconstruction since the year 2002. In 2009, Japan announced its new commitment to provide up to 5 billion US dollar in coming 5 years for the stabilization and reconstruction of Afghanistan. Japan will continue its support for peace and reconstruction of the country. (PR)
.::Epaper-Daily outlook Afghanistan::.
KABUL – Grant contracts for the projects funded by Japan were signed and exchanged Wednesday between Foreign Minister Dr. Zalmai Rasoul and Mr. Reiichiro Takahashi, Ambassador of Japan in Afghanistan, in the presence of Dr. Nadera Hayat Burhani, Deputy Minister of Public Health. The details of the projects are as follow: 1- Non-Project Grant Aid for the Japanese fiscal year 2010 with the amount of two billion eight hundred million Japanese Yen (\2,800,000,000), equivalent to approximately 30 million US dollar. 2- The Project for Improvement of Medical Equipments for the Provincial Hospital of Balkh with a grant of one billion thirty-six million Japanese Yen (1,036,000,000), equivalent to approximately 11 million US dollar. Non-Project Grant Aid (NPGA) program is aimed at reducing the vulnerability and weakness of the economic structure of the country. Japan has so far provided 17.4 billion Japanese Yen in total, which is approximately 185 million US dollar, to the Government of Afghanistan in the form of this Non-Project Grant Aid (NPGA), and with this year’s assistance the total amount of the contribution reaches almost 215 million US dollar. The grant has been used for purchasing diesel oil to meet the dire need of energy sources for the people of Afghanistan and its economy. The diesel oil purchased with this Grant Aid is sold in the local market at a reasonable price. Over 50% of the revenues from the sales are to be saved in a fund managed by the Ministry of Finance, which is called “the Counterpart Fund (CPF)”. The CPF is to be utilized for various priority projects for economic and social development. In the past, the CPF was used to support the National Area-Based Development Program (NABDP), construction of the new Kabul International Airport Terminal and provision of police vehicles and others. The second is the Project for Improvement of Medical Equipments for the Provincial Hospital of Balkh. The equipments and facilities, which Japan will provide, include those for emergency admission, surgery and laboratory diagnostics. The hospital is currently under reconstruction by a support of the German government and will have 360 beds in the 14,000㎡ building. This project has its importance for the people of Afghanistan, contributing directly to the population of 350,000 in the city of Mazar-e Sharif as a central hospital and for 1.2 million people in Balkh Province with the improved facilities as well as diagnostic and treatment capacity. It also benefits up to 6 million citizens as a referral hospital to the neighboring regions in the North of the country. The Government of Japan has so far contributed approximately 2.5 billion US dollar in support of Afghanistan’s reconstruction since the year 2002. In 2009, Japan announced its new commitment to provide up to 5 billion US dollar in coming 5 years for the stabilization and reconstruction of Afghanistan. Japan will continue its support for peace and reconstruction of the country. (PR)
.::Epaper-Daily outlook Afghanistan::.
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