DUSHANBE, November 10, 2010, Asia-Plus — On Wednesday November 10, Mr. Safarali Najmiddinov, Minister of Finance of Tajikistan, and Ms. Chiara Bronchi, World Bank Country Manager in Tajikistan, signed a grant agreement.
According to press release issued by the World Bank, the grant in an amount of 2.8 million US dollars aims to address the issue of chronic childhood malnutrition in Khatlon province through the implementation of a nutrition pilot project that is funded through the Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF).
The nutrition pilot project funding was approved by the Government of Japan in May 2010, and will be implemented over the next two years by the Ministry of Health in 10 districts in Khatlon; namely Hamadoni, Panj, Qunsangir, Rumi, Jilikul, Vakhsh, Yovon, Farkhor, Temurmalik and Baljuvon.
“The purpose of this project is to prevent acute childhood illnesses, improve eating disorders and mitigate the negative impact of chronic malnutrition on the learning and physical development of children ,” -said Ms. Chiara Bronchi, World Bank Country Manager in Tajikistan.
The project will focus on strengthening community based nutrition monitoring, education on home based management of common childhood illnesses, nutrition education for mothers and caregivers and provision of micro-nutrient supplements to pregnant and breastfeeding women and children under the age of three.
