Japan announces additional grant of $5.5m for weather surveillance radar project in Sukkur

ISLAMABAD: Japan has announced an additional grant of $5.5 million for a project for the installation of a weather surveillance radar in Sukkur, which was agreed on 25 January 2021 with the original cost of $13.12 million.

The agreement to this effect were signed by Japanese Ambassador Mitsuhiro Wada and secretary ministry of economic affairs Dr Kazim Niaz here on Thursday. The amended grant agreements of the project were also inked on the occasion.

Meanwhile, Japan has decided to provide an additional grant of $4.43 million for “the project for extension of maternal and child healthcare facility in Sindh”, which was announced on 31 August 2021 with the original cost of $22.76 million. The project is expected to benefit more than 20 million people. The understanding was signed by Mitsuhiro Wada and Dr Kazim Niaz.

The amended grant agreements of the project were also signed and exchanged between Naoaki Miyata, chief representative of JICA Pakistan office, and Saeed Ashraf Siddiqui, JS Ministry of Economic Affairs. The additional grant is being provided in response to a request made by Pakistan due to a shortfall in the project cost caused by exchange rate fluctuations and market price escalation.

Under the project, a new maternal and child health centre will be established at the Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences, Jamshoro, which is a public medical institution serving as the regional hub hospital in the Hyderabad district.

The maternal and child health centre will have departments of obstetrics and pediatrics, including a labour room, an obstetrics ward, a neonatal intensive care unit, a maternal and fetal intensive care unit, a laboratory, and outpatient consultation rooms. 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.

Japanese Ambassador Wada said that the project is expected to benefit more than 20 million people. In terms of the project amount $27.19 million and beneficiary population, this is one of the largest grant projects implemented by Japan in countries around the world.

Upon completion in April 2025, it 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 Japanese government 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.