RI gets $620m loan from ADB

RI gets $620m loan from ADB

MANILA (AFP): Indonesia will receive a total of 620 million
dollars in loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to help
fight poverty and malnutrition, the bank said on Thursday.

The Manila-based bank Thursday approved loans amounting to
$300 million to help the government deal with worsening health
problems and malnutrition plaguing women and children because of
the Asian financial crisis.

"Families, particularly urban households, are much worse off
than they were a year ago. The poor are less able to provide
adequate nutrition and cannot afford medical care," said Bill
Fraser, ADB's health expert.

The project involves stocking up health centers with vital
drugs and vaccines, providing the basic nutrition needs for
pregnant women and children and strengthening programs to control
contagious diseases, the ADB said.

Indonesia is hoping that the Japanese Overseas Economic
Cooperation Fund will provide 300-million-dollar parallel
financing for the project, the ADB said.