The European Union (EU) has announced a further EUR 2 million in funding to help Sri Lanka in its efforts to manage the pandemic. The grant, provided by the EU humanitarian office ECHO, will be channelled through the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Vision in Sri Lanka. These resources complement ongoing EU support to fight the Covid-19 and its socioeconomic consequences in Srilanka, including EUR 2 million for the health sector as well as close to EUR 4 million to revitalize the tourism industry.
“Healthcare staff and facilities in Sri Lanka are being pushed to the limit by the pandemic,” said Michelle Cicic, who oversees EU humanitarian assistance in Asia-Pacific. “The EU and Sri Lanka have worked together to battle COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic. This latest support will ensure that emergency equipment and supplies are quickly channelled to health facilities in dire need of life-saving assistance.”
“This new grant is part of the EU’s global response to the coronavirus pandemic to ‘build back better’ and it complements our ongoing partnership with WHO in Sri Lanka,” said the Ambassador of the EU Delegation in Sri Lanka, H.E. Denis Chaibi. “The additional resources will be instrumental in improving healthcare capacity and hopefully help also preventing future surges of cases, while paying special attention to the needs of the most vulnerable people and underserved areas.”
