Germany promises 23.8-million euros to fund poverty reduction efforts in RP

The Philippines and Germany signed yesterday a 23.83-million euro financial cooperation agreement for the implementation of development projects in the country, mainly aimed at reducing poverty in the next eight years.

In a statement, Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople said the funds, which was committed by Germany, will be added to the 11.40 million euro made available earlier to the Philippines by Germany.

Ople said the signing of the agreement capped negotiations between Manila and Berlin since December 2000.

"During the negotiations, it was agreed that slow-moving projects or those that had not moved from pipeline to operation for at least two years would be dropped and the corresponding funds reprogrammed to other projects in the next bilateral negotiations," Ople said.

It was also agreed that consultations and other forms of intergovernmental talks concerning RP-Germany development cooperation should take place at least once a year.

Ople said the next bilateral negotiations are scheduled to take place in Germany in the second quarter of 2003.

Projects to be funded by the RP-Germany agreement are the following: integrated solid waste management program for local government units, small and medium-size entrepreneurship centers, credit line for micro and small enterprises, urban family health services and family planning and HIV/AIFS prevention.

In the integration solid waste management project, a total loan amount of 29.1 million euro that includes reprogrammed funds will be made available as a credit line to the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) for the financing of environmentally friendly and hygienic waste disposal facilities of selected local government units.

Ople said approximately 1.4 million euro will be provided as a grant for accompanying measures to be utilized primarily to support DBP in the implementation of the credit line.

Some 2.8 million euro, on the other hand, will be used for the establishment of up to five small and medium-sized entrepreneurship centers in cooperation with the Technical Education and Skills Development (TESDA).

The agreement will also provide 6.1 million euro credit line for micro and small enterprises to be allocated to government financial institutions for their lending activities.

Under the urban family health services project, 2.8 million euro will be allocated to the supply of essential generic drugs to the poor segments of the population through private non-profit making organizations.

Approximately 0.7-million euro allocated to Phase II of the Family planning and HIV/AIDS Prevention project focusing in women’s health and safe motherhood and the improvement of 63 provincial district hospitals. The funds will also be utilized for the procurement of drugs, medical equipment and training of health personnel.