Sierra Leone Telegraph: 29 August 2017
In response to the disaster in Freetown which took the lives of over 1,000 people, of which the remains of over 500 are yet to be recovered, the World Bank has announced immediate grant-in-aid package for Sierra Leone of about US$13 million.
US$10 million will support the government’s current budgetary requirements, and $3 million will be provided to support existing projects.
The funding will help the country rebuild critical infrastructure, damaged by the recent floods, especially the rehabilitation of the capital’s drinking water source – the Guma Valley Dam.
The World Bank says that it will be doubling its IDA funding for Sierra Leone for the next three years, which for the entire World Bank Group – IBRD, IDA, IFC, and MIGA, the total funding available for Sierra Leone will be more than US$500 million in the next three years.
This will include grants, loans and guarantees. The Bank team in Sierra Leone will discuss priority areas for deployment with the government. These areas would include environmental protection, urban planning and improved land management.
World Bank Vice President for the Africa Region, Makhtar Diop, has offered his personal condolences and those of the World Bank Group to President Ernest Bai Koroma and the people of Sierra Leone, following the massive loss of life caused by landslide and flooding which took place in Freetown on the 14th of August 2017.
Mr. Diop expressed the World Bank’s commitment to provide Sierra Leone with both technical and financial support to deal with the tragedy.
The World Bank has deployed a specialist Disaster Management Team in Freetown to work with the government, United Nations Agencies and other international and local organizations, to assess the immediate, short and medium term needs of the country. Two World Bank Disaster Management Specialists are leading the team.
Around twenty other World Bank sector specialists are working on this assignment along with experts from other agencies. The team will conclude its work on September 8, 2017 and present its recommendations to the government.
Editor’s Note
kindly donate to our Freetown Flood Disaster Emergency Appeal. We’re raising £50000 to Help victims of the massive flooding in Freetown, Sierra Leone, which has taken the lives of hundreds of people, with thousands now homeless.
Please go to our JustGiving Crowdfunding Page and help make it happen:
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