India to give $990,000 aid to Sierra Leone for differently abled persons

Over 450 Sierra Leone nationals have enrolled under the Pan-African Tele-Education and Tele-Medicine initiative (e-VBAB), receiving online education across various courses from Indian universities

India will provide a funding support of close to a million dollars to Sierra Leone from the India-UN Development Partnership Fund for a project for differently abled persons in the West African country.

In response to a request by the Government of Sierra Leone, India will provide the 990,000 dollar funding support for the project Enabling Economic Independence For Specially Abled Persons In Sierra Leone (Persons With Disabilities)'.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is partnering with India towards the project.

A press release issued by the Permanent Mission of India to the UN here Thursday said that the project is a top national development priority for the Sierra Leone Government as it will promote sustainable livelihoods for persons with disabilities through training and work cooperatives in rural areas.

This would enable them to achieve economic independence while staying close to their homes. The project aims to refurbish dedicated centres for persons with disabilities, develop a training curriculum for priority skill areas, adopt technology to enhance mobility and access to social services and establish a loan programme to purchase tools, the release added.

Noting that India and Sierra Leone enjoy warm and cordial relations, the release said that India's developmental cooperation with the country through Lines of Credit and ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) Bank for Investment and Development aggregates to 250 million dollars, covering a range of sectors.

More than 450 Sierra Leone nationals have enrolled themselves under the Pan-African Tele-Education and Tele-Medicine initiative (e-VBAB) so far and have received online education in various courses from Indian Universities.

Sierra Leone is also one of the main beneficiaries of the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) and Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) scholarships in different programmes in various institutes in India.

The India-UN Development Partnership Fund, established by the Government of India in June 2017, provides support to projects in developing countries that aim to contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Fund adheres to the principles of South-South cooperation and places priority on national ownership and leadership, equality, sustainability, development of local capacity and mutual benefit.

A total of USD 150 million has been committed by the Indian government for the Fund, under which 86 projects in 65 countries have been serviced so far, the release added.