Sri Lanka gets natural disaster credit from World Bank

Apr 24, 2014 (LBO) - Sri Lanka has been given a 102 million US dollar credit line that can be drawn immediately after a natural disaster, as well as another 110 million dollars for measures to cut disaster risk, the World Bank said. The lender said Sri Lanka is the first county in South Asia to gain access to its new Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Option, which can be drawn down fully or partially as soon as a state of emergency is declared after a natural disaster.

"Poor people are usually the first to suffer in natural disasters and they do not have the resources to cope with the losses in income or property," said Francoise Clottes, World Bank Country Director for Sri Lanka said in a statement.

"The package of financial support, including a first of its kind facility for South Asia, will help the government of Sri Lanka to respond more effectively to help people suffering from a natural disaster while ensuring that financial support remains intact for the country’s programs to overcome poverty and increase shared prosperity."

The emergency facility also comes with another 110 million dollars for a Climate Resilience Improvement Project (CRIP), where short and long term interventions will be made to reduce climat