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.