Scene taken after a August 9 quake hit the Lombok island, Indonesia. (Illustrative photo: AP/EFE/Reuters/Getty) Hanoi (VNA) -The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on November 20 that it has approved a500-million-USD emergency assistance loan to support Indonesia's recovery andrehabilitation of Lombok and Central Sulawesi after recent disasters.
The Manila-based bank said the loan will provide immediate funding for the recoveryand rehabilitation action plans of the Indonesian government, targeting urgentneeds such as temporary shelters, social protection and services, as well aseconomic recovery through cash assistance, credit schemes and skillsimprovement programmes.
"ADB's emergency assistance loan provides timely and flexible financing tohelp mitigate the devastating impacts of the recent disasters," said SonaShrestha, ADB's Director for Public Management, Financial Sector, and TradeDivision for Southeast Asia.
The Emergency Assistance for Recovery and Rehabilitation from Recent Disastersis part of ADB's response to two recent disasters that hit Indonesia. Theyincluded a 7-magnitude earthquake that struck Lombok, West Nusa Tenggaraprovince, in August, and a 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck CentralSulawesi province in September.
These disasters claimed the lives of more than 2,600 people, injured some18,000 people and displaced more than half a million.-VNA