DUSHANBE, April 18, 2016, Asia-Plus — On April 13 and 14, Ms. Chie Tamura, Head of the Department on Economic Cooperation of Japan’s Embassy in Dushanbe, attended four handover ceremonies in Vakhsh, Bokhtar, Shahritous and Nosir Khusrav districts of Khatlon province.
According to Japan’s Embassy, the projects were funded in the total amount of US$399,491 through the framework of Japan’s Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP).
The objectives of four projects reportedly included construction of new school for improving educational environment for schoolchildren and improving the quality of healthcare services through providing medical equipment to hospitals.
The handover ceremony for “The Project for Construction of Secondary School No. 29 in Saadi Sherozi Village, Rudaki Jamoat, Vakhsh District” took place on April 13. Previously, School No.29 consisted of 3 classrooms where students from 1st to 4th grade studied in 3 shifts, and the students of higher grades had to walk 7 km to another school. In order to construct a new school building, the grant of US$109,910 was provided to the Vakhsh district local government.
Following Vakhsh district, Ms. Tamura attended a ceremony for the completion of “The Project for Construction of New School Building for Secondary School No. 8 in Semenobod Village, Bokhtariyon Jamoat, Bokhtar District” (currently the name of the village changed to Hofizi Sherozi). The local government of Bokhtar district received US$101,245 in order to implement the project. With the project completion, the children from Semenobod (Hofizi Sherozi) village can now enjoy learning in the improved educational facility.
On the same day, a handover ceremony for “The Project for Provision of Medical Equipment for Surgical Department at Central Hospital of Shahritous District” was held. The grant of US$87,686 was provided to the local government of Shahritous district for purchasing new medical equipment. Now with the project completion, the Shahritous central hospital is now equipped with the modern medical equipment including operation lamp, operation table, mobile X-Ray apparatus, ALV, etc.
On April 14, Ms. Tamura visited Nosir Khusrav district to attend the handover ceremony for “The Project for Building Refurbishment and Provision of Equipment at Regional Hospital No.1 in Navrouz Jamoat, Nosir Khusrav District.” A grant US$100,650 awarded to the local government of Nosir Khusrav district for implementation of the project aimed at improving the healthcare service to the patients of the district.
During the handover ceremonies, Ms. Tamura emphasized the importance of GGP projects for development of Tajikistan.
“Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Project” (GGP) is a scheme within Japan’s Official Development Assistance. GGP in particular implements grassroots-level projects in various sectors throughout the Republic of Tajikistan. Recipients of GGP grants include local governments, educational and medical institutions, and NGOs. As of today, GGP has supported 352 projects in Tajikistan, for which US$28.5 million has been allocated since 1996.
