Flood-hit areas in Sindh: Japan to provide $5.3m grant-in-aid for reconstructing educational facilities

ISLAMABAD: The Government of Japan has agreed to provide new grant assistance worth 794 million Japanese Yen (equivalent to around USD 5.3 million/ around Rs 1.530 billion) for reconstructing educational facilities in flood-affected areas in Sindh.

A signing ceremony for the assistance was held at the Ministry of Economic Affairs here on Wednesday. Wada Mitsuhiro, Ambassador of Japan, Kinoshita Yasumitsu, Chief Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Dr Kazim Niaz, Secretary Ministry of Economic Affairs, and other officials from both countries attended this ceremony.

The notes of the project were signed and exchanged by Dr Niaz, and Mitsuhiro on behalf of their respective governments.

The grant agreement was signed by Saeed Ashraf Siddiqi, Joint Secretary EAD and Chief Representative JICA. Since June 2022, heavy monsoon rains have intermittently caused flooding that has submerged one-third of the country, resulting in more than 1,700 deaths and 33 million people affected.

Damage in Sindh province has been severe, accounting for 66 percent of the total damage in the education sector. As medium- and long-term measures, the rapid reconstruction of damaged educational facilities are important to ensure that children have safe learning opportunities.

This is the fourth grant aid through which the government of Japan supports the improvement of educational facilities in Sindh province.

The school buildings assisted by Japan in the past projects suffered less damage and destruction from the rainfall and flooding in 2022 because they were designed and constructed based on analysis of the 2010 floods.

The new project will also incorporate the concept of “Build Back Better” to reduce the vulnerability of the target schools to future disasters and build resilience of communities where the schools are located.

This project aims to establish a safe and disaster-resilient learning environment through the reconstruction of elementary schools which were heavily affected by the flood and heavy rain in 2022.

The assistance contributes to improving the school enrollment rate and gender equality in the target areas, contributing to the SDGs Goal 4 (quality education) and 5 (gender equality).

Wada Mitsuhiro stated, “I hope that the project this time will further contribute to creating an environment where children can continue to receive education even after the floods in the future.”

Kinoshita, while speaking at the event, said: “We believe that the new grant aid project will build not only school buildings, but also it will build brighter and more resilient future for the next generation of Pakistan.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023