Archives

Japan contributes US $ 370,000 to Colombo Plan

Two bank drafts for US $ 300,000 and US $ 70,000 were handed over by Japan's Ambassador Seiichiro Otsuka to the Secretary General of the Colombo Plan Secretariat in Colombo, Dr. U. Sarath Chandran earlier this month to be used on two ongoing programs for human resource development under the C Plan Africa Initiative Program and the Drug Advisory Program, a release by the Embassy said last week.

Japan has been a major contributor to the Colombo Plan, providing voluntary contributions to the DAP and PPA. And has continuously provided funding to the PPA since it was established in 1995.

One of the objectives of the PPA is to promote good practices in tackling issues of economic and social development in member countries through sharing of experience under a framework of South-South Co-operation.

Today, the PPA concentrates on promoting human resources development in the area of public policy making in the context of globalization and the market economy in a variety of fields including environmental issues, poverty alleviation, sustainable development, urban governance, capacity and institution building, fiscal reforms, and the use of IT in improving efficiency and productivity in member countries, the release said.

"The Colombo Plan Drug Advisory Program, since its inception in 1973, has been a prime mover in several drug prevention and control initiatives in the Asia Pacific region.

The government of Japan has been supporting the Colombo Plan Drug Advisory Programme since 1989. With the funding of US $ 70,000 for the year 2001/2, the Colombo Plan DAP will embark on the new initiative of mobilizing public and private sector agencies to implement drug-free workplace programs. This initiative is particularly well targeted as studies have shown that a substantial number of drug addicts are young employed men. The workplace program is a vital component of the drug prevention program in member countries as workplaces are part and parcel of the community."

"Another component to be strengthened with this year's grant is the aftercare and relapse prevention of recovering drug addicts. The Drug Advisory Program has implemented several initiatives in this area, with funding from the Government of Japan, and found that they have been very beneficial to member countries."

"The funding for the current year is also to provide training fellowships for officials from member countries to learn best practices in prevention and treatment of drug addicts.

These fellowships have been instrumental in enabling participants to observe and learn at first hand successful drug prevention and treatment programs in Asia and to exchange information and forge networks with other professionals in the field," the release said.

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager