AfDB okays $1m emergency grant for Kagera schools

Dar es Salaam. Schools hit by last September earthquake in Kagera Region will get additional support from a humanitarian emergency grant approved by the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group’s board last week.

Kagera Region in northwestern Tanzania was hit by a 5.9-magnitude earthquake resulting in 17 deaths and 440 injured.

Over 2,500 houses were completely destroyed, while 14,500 buildings including 1,700 government structures were partially destroyed.

At least 118,000 people lost their homes to the earthquake, making the provision of temporary shelter a priority for the affected households.

The Bank’s emergency assistance will focus on the rehabilitation of classrooms, offices, teachers’ accommodation and sanitation facilities damaged by the quake.

The support will complement ongoing efforts by the government, UN agencies and other development partners to restore schools and minimise disruptions in the school calendar.

The government said it has received about US $7 million in cash, pledges and materials in response to support earthquake victims.

However, preliminary estimates suggest that about US $20 million is needed for emergency shelter, while the education sector alone needs at least US $30 million to restore the damaged infrastructure.

The Kagera earthquake was the second quake recorded in Tanzania over the last 120 years. Tremors are common along the great East African Rift Valley corridor, which traverses the country, constituting the eastern and western branches of the Rift Valley.