Canada gives grant to Sulawesi

Canada gives grant to Sulawesi

JAKARTA: The Canadian Ambassador to Indonesia, Randolph Mank,
announced on Thursday a C$5 million grant to the United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF) to help improve the quality of social
services for women and children in Sulawesi.

The initiative is the first of several major Canadian
projects, totaling more than $14.4 million, aimed at enhancing
local capacity to address environmental, gender, governance, and
small to medium size enterprise development challenges in
Sulawesi.

"We have a good network and knowledge on Sulawesi. The poverty
level there is still high, yet only a few parties pay attention
to the island," Mank told the press conference.

Erna Witoelar, the UN's special envoy for the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) in Asia Pacific, said that the
disparities in Indonesian development are pronounced.

"Development is imbalanced in the eastern region. Sulawesi has
lagged behind other areas ... poverty is high, and so is the
maternal mortality rate," said Erna, a Sulawesi native. -- JP