US to provide $181m in grant

FE Team | Published: September 29, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

FE Report
The United States is going to provide a total of over US$ 181 million in grants to Bangladesh for improving its health services and environmental degradation over a period of four years, official sources said.
Two separate agreements on the grants will be signed tomorrow (Sunday) in Dhaka to this effect.
Sources in the Finance Ministry said that under the agreement the American donor agency - USAID -- would provide $173.99 million aid in order to provide health service facilities and $7.229 million to check environmental degradation in Bangladesh.
The sources said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare would get the $173.99 million grant under the agreement with the USAID for ensuring health services facilities to the people under the Health, Nutrition and Population Sector Program (HNPSP) of the ministry.
Through the assistance, the ministry will provide some health services including preventing tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS to the human body, ensuring maternal and child health facilities, and reproductive health and family planning facilities.
According to the health and family welfare ministry, the HNPSP is designed to modernise the country's health sector and accelerate progress towards reaching the health related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and is supported by US$ 4.2 billion in government and donor funding over the period.
The government will finance around 70 per cent of the programme and development partners would provide around 30 per cent, the sources added.
Besides, both the Environment, and Fisheries and Livestock ministries will get $7.229 million grant under the agreement with the USAID for the bio-diversity conservation and natural resources management for ensuring better environment in the country.
The sources in the finance ministry said the ministry of environment would conserve bio-diversity in Bangladesh for a better eco-system and the fisheries and livestock ministry would ensure natural resources management in the 'haor' areas preserving adequate fishes and other aquatic creatures there for a better eco-system.
The USAID funded two projects will run until the year 2011, the finance ministry sources said.
The ministry sources added after signing the agreements for the two grants, the US development partner will sit with the concerned ministries to work out plans for implementing the projects and disbursing the funds.
The major bilateral donor, USA, until fiscal 2005-06 disbursed $3.473 billion aid to Bangladesh government for financing its development works in various sectors.
Out of the total aid, the US government has provided food grant worth $1.319 billion and loans $484.24 million, commodity grant worth $469.169 million and loans $146.234 million and project grant worth $921.505 million and loans $133.03 million.
The US government has stopped the food aid to Bangladesh from fiscal 2001-02 claiming misuse of the food grants in the previous years, sources in the finance ministry said.