Govt. hospitals depend on Japan grant of USD 46 mn for diesel

Sri Lanka has secured Japanese assistance to run government hospitals. The Japanese Ambassador Mizukoshi Hideaki yesterday (22) signed an Exchange of Notes, with the Secretary to the Treasury, Mahinda Siriwardana, at the Presidential Secretariat. for a humanitarian grant assistance of USD 46 million in providing diesel fuel for public hospitals, across the country,

Earlier, China provided diesel for fisheries and farmer communities. The announcement was made a week after the abolition of power cuts.

The following is the Japanese Embassy statement:

“Amidst the fuel shortage, due to the economic crisis, 1,180 public hospitals, across the island, have been forced to suspend medical services, during power cut, and non-emergency medical operations. Life-saving services have also been hampered by fuel shortages for ambulances and medical transport vehicles carrying emergency patients, medical staff and equipment.

The Government of Japan will provide 20 million litres of diesel fuel through this humanitarian support to help Sri Lanka provide sustainable medical services during the economic crisis.

Following the signing, Ambassador Mizukoshi paid a courtesy call on President Ranil Wickremesinghe and assured Japan’s commitment to provide necessary support to help Sri Lanka overcome the economic crisis and achieve sustainable economic growth. Ambassador Mizukoshi also stated that Japan has provided a total of USD 104 million in grant assistance to Sri Lanka in FY2022, including USD 77.8 million in humanitarian assistance, of which this USD 46 million as fuel assistance. This is the highest amount of annual grant assistance by the Japanese Government to Sri Lanka in its history, and testament to Japan’s strong commitment for its continued solidarity with Sri Lanka in the midst of the current economic crisis.”