Japan grants USD 1.2 Million to combat COVID-19 in SriLanka

COLOMBO (News1st): Japan on Tuesday issued a grant of 1.2 million dollars to Sri Lanka to assist its efforts in combatting COVID-19, the Japanese Embassy in Colombo said. These funds had been channelled through the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the embassy said in a statement. Around 500,000 US dollars were released through UNICEF for an array of measures including the provision of health supplies, refurbishment of isolation units and to ensure undisruptive access to child education and child protection. The embassy said that 422,500 US dollars had been extended through the IOM to support internal and cross-border coordination of migrant and mobile populations and to alleviate barriers to credible information. Japan had extended the remaining 250,000 US dollars of the grant through the IFRC to supply daily necessities for isolated patients, assist in disseminating health-related knowledge, and to support affected populations and frontline workers involved in battling the pandemic. Sri Lanka has reported a total of 310 infections while recording seven deaths and 102 recoveries.