The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved $100 million in financing to support social protection and economic inclusion for poor and elderly people in Sri Lanka.
The financing has two parts: a $50 million policy-based loan and a $50 million project loan. It falls under the Promoting Resilience and Opportunity for Inclusive Recovery Sector Development Program.
The programme will help the Government expand livelihood and employment opportunities for low-income households, improve eldercare services and make the social protection system more effective and responsive.
It will support the Government’s National Empowerment Program, giving 30,000 households identified through the Aswesuma social registry in six districts livelihood grants. These households, including women and youth, will also receive employment and business support, skills development and financial literacy training, and access to reliable markets.
On eldercare, the programme will strengthen the policy and regulatory framework and set up five model elderly day care centres in poorer districts. The centres will provide integrated care and support, and will serve as demonstration sites to test eldercare models that can later be expanded nationwide.
The programme will also improve how social protection is delivered, through better monitoring and evaluation systems, digital platforms, case management and data governance. It includes institutional arrangements to ensure timely support during shocks linked to climate change and other emergencies.
“Sri Lanka’s economic recovery must translate into meaningful improvements in the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable people,” said ADB Country Director for Sri Lanka Shannon Cowlin.
The ADB said poverty and vulnerability to shocks remain high in Sri Lanka despite the continued recovery, particularly among women, young people, the elderly, persons with disabilities and people in rural and disadvantaged regions.
Background
A policy-based loan is budget support that is linked to reforms agreed with the government, while a project loan pays for specific activities. The ADB has been among Sri Lanka’s main development lenders since the country’s economic crisis of 2022.
Aswesuma is the Government’s welfare benefits scheme, which replaced the earlier Samurdhi programme. It uses a registry of households to decide who qualifies for cash support.
What it means
For the 30,000 households selected through the Aswesuma registry, the programme offers grants and training intended to help them earn an income. Older people in the poorer districts that host the five day care centres may gain access to organised care services.
The ADB has not set out in its announcement when the first payments or centres will begin, so readers should look to the relevant government ministry for further details.
