Islamabad, 4 April 2024: The Government of Japan decided to provide an additional grant of JPY 671 million (approx. US$4.43 million) for “the Project for the Extension of Maternal and Child Health Care Facility in Sindh”, which was announced on 31 August 2021 with the original cost of JPY3,445 million (approx. US$22.76 million).
The Notes to this effect were signed and exchanged between H.E. Mr. WADA Mitsuhiro, Ambassador of Japan and Dr. Kazim Niaz, Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Affairs on April 4, 2024. On the same occasion, amended grant agreements of the project were signed and exchanged today between Mr. Naoaki Miyata, Chief Representative of JICA Pakistan Office and Mr. Saeed Ashraf Siddiqui, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The decision of this additional grant is in response to a request made by the Government of Pakistan due to a shortfall in the project cost caused by exchange rate fluctuations and market price escalation.
Under this project, a new maternal and child health center will be established at the Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences (LUMHS), Jamshoro, which is a public medical institution serving as the regional hub hospital in Hyderabad district. The maternal and child health center will have departments of obstetrics and pediatrics, including a labor room, an obstetrics ward, a neonatal intensive care unit, a maternal and fetal intensive care unit, a laboratory, and outpatient consultation rooms. In addition, around 120 items of medical equipment including newborn incubators and ultrasonic diagnostic device are to be installed. The project is scheduled to be completed by April 2025.
Ambassador WADA said, “The project is expected to benefit more than 20 million people. In terms of the project amount (JPY4,116 million/approx. US$27.19 million) and beneficiary population, this is one of the largest grant projects implemented by Japan in countries around the world. I am confident that upon completion in April 2025, this project will be one of the symbols of Japan’s development assistance to Pakistan, along with the PIMS in Islamabad.”
The number of care facilities to treat mothers and babies with complications is limited in Sindh. This project will not only alleviate the pressure of tertiary hospitals in Karachi and Hyderabad, but also open up opportunities for families from all over southern part of Sindh, with improved accessibility and better chances of saving lives. The Government of Japan and JICA give high priority to mother and child health in the health sector strategy in Pakistan and reassure their commitment to continuous support to its vulnerable population.
Japan provides additional 5.5 million USD for the Project for Installation of Weather Surveillance Radar in Sukkur City
Islamabad, 4 April 2024: The Government of Japan decided to provide additional grant of JPY 832 million (approx. US$5.5 million) for “the Project for Installation of Weather Surveillance Radar in Sukkur”, which was announced on 25 January 2021 with the original cost of JPY1,986 million (approx. US$13.12 million).
The Notes to this effect were signed and exchanged between H.E. Mr. WADA Mitsuhiro, Ambassador of Japan and Dr. Kazim Niaz, Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Affairs on April 4, 2024. On the same occasion, amended grant agreements of the project were signed today between Mr. Naoaki MIYATA, Chief Representative, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Pakistan Office, and Mr. Saeed Ashraf Siddiqui, Joint Secretary Ministry of Economic (EAD).
The decision of this additional grant is in response to a request made by the Government of Pakistan due to a shortfall in the project cost caused by market price escalation.
Pakistan has a high frequency of natural disasters, such as floods, landslides, cyclones, and earthquakes. Quite notably, Pakistan experiences heavy damage to large parts of the country every year due to floods triggered by heavy rains during the monsoon season. Apart from this grant, we will train PMD’s staff through the technical cooperation project to improve the capacity of PMD for meteorological observation, forecasting, dissemination of meteorological information, contributing to the reduction of damage from natural disasters by utilizing the essential information with disaster-related stakeholders, such as NDMA and FFC.
We have already supported the Islamabad, Karachi, and Multan radars. After the installation of the Sukkur radar, the radars supported by JICA will cover almost 90% of areas in Pakistan.
Ambassador WADA said, “with the completion of this project in 2026, together with the projects in Islamabad, Karachi and Multan, which Japan has helped establish, 90% of Pakistan’s land area will be covered by the weather radar system. Accurate weather forecasts provided by these radars will help people to prepare for heavy rains and reduce the personal and economic damage caused by floods in the future. This project is in line with the spirit and policy of flood recovery expressed by Pakistan at the Geneva conference in January last year.”
The Government of Japan and JICA continue the assistance to enhance the disaster risk management initiatives of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
