EU-SDDP is a five-year development cooperation programme that started in 2012 with the aim to provide support to four districts in the North and East, namely Vavuniya, Mannar, Batticaloa and Ampara, and border villages affected by the conflict in three other districts, Anuradhapura, Puttalam and Moneragala.
With a total financial envelope of EUR 60 million, the programme focuses on the three key result areas - poverty reduction and provision of basic infrastructure and services for vulnerable populations, support for local economic development, and strengthening of local governance mechanisms.
Speaking on the occasion were Hon Harsha de Silva PhD, Deputy Minister of Policy Planning and Economic Affairs, Mr Subinay Nandy, the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations and UNDP representative in Sri Lanka, HE Mr David Daly Ambassador of the European Union to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, and Ms Libuse Soukupova, Head of Cooperation of the EU Delegation, amidst the attendance of other representatives from the Government and European Union, as well as the UN and IFC organisations implementing the programme.
Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Daly said “2015 is designated as the European Union Year of Development.
The EU together with its 28 Member States gives more than half of all development aid globally and this field is truly of great important to us.
EU assistance to Sri Lanka has evolved from humanitarian aid to traditional developmental aid over the years and our assistance has benefitted around a million people.
We have been helping rebuild lives and communities affected by the tsunami and the war; helping resettle IDPs; helping children get back to school; helping farmers manage their crops, and assisting people in improving their livelihoods.
I am confident that the EU-SDDP programme will not only assist Sri Lanka but will do so in a more effective and sustainable manner".
Addressing the gathering, the Mr Nandy noted “The war resulted in destruction of both life and property, community and economic infrastructure, affected institutions of governance and resulted in large scale internal displacement and out migration.
The districts in the Northern and Eastern provinces and the adjacent districts were alienated from the overall development process of the country.
There is a compelling need to bridge inter-district disparities and strengthen the economic, social and institutional foundations of impoverished and lagging districts to draw nearer to developmental objectives and targets articulated at the national level.”
He further outlined how, under the EU-SDDP “Poverty reduction and provision of basic infrastructure and services to vulnerable populations is to be achieved by five results: income generation, improving sustainable livelihoods, enhancing infrastructure offering services, providing access to quality social services and strengthening the capacity of local producers.”
In addition, EU-SDDP addresses local economic development by supporting entrepreneurship and expansion of existing businesses, improving the business environment and improving access to quality vocational training.
Strengthening local governance also remains key and activities focus mainly on capacity development in planning and policy implementation.
The highlight of the event was the launch of the EU-SDDP website (www.eu-sddp.lk).
The website will feature a wide range of useful information including project progress updates as well as analyses and statistical information on the programme.
Commenting on this, Ambassador Daly said “The SDDP website which we launch today will bring to the general public, the very good work being done under the EUR 60 million programme.
It will also help educate and hopefully inspire others”.
Collaborating with the EU in implementing the programme are five UN agencies - UNDP, FAO, UNICEF, UNOPS, ILO and IFC, a member of the World Bank Group.
Set to conclude in 2017, the EU-SDDP will be a key contributor in Sri Lanka’s journey towards bridging the regional disparities between the districts.
Head Table from Left to Right:
Ms. Libuse Soukupova, Head of CooperationDelegation of the European Union; HE Mr. David Daly, Ambassador of the European Union; Hon. Dr. Harsha De Silva, Deputy Minister,Policy Planning and Economic Affairs; Mr. SubinayNandy, UN Resident Coordinator & UNDP Resident Representative;Mr. Adam Sack, IFC Country Manager
