Brussels, 25/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 25 July, the European Commission adopted a new programme for Belarus, to which €13.5 million will be allocated, for the promotion of health and also local and regional development.
The first part of the programme, which will have a budget of €8 million, relates to the prevention of transmissible diseases and the promotion of healthy lifestyles with a programme of subsidies for non-governmental organisations working in that field. It also supports the international accreditation of laboratories for testing medical products and aims to provide strategic advice for supporting the modernisation of the health system.
The second part of the programme, to which €3.5 million has been allocated, aims to promote regional development and the improvement of living conditions for communities in the Minsk and Grodno (west) regions. It also aims to build up the capacity of the regional authorities to develop and upgrade regional development strategies with a number of pilot schemes relating to the environment, support for the private sector, and the improvement of housing and the local public sector. Under the United Nations development programme (UNDP), the programme will also focus on local authorities, including with a programme for subsidised funding of local community projects and facilitating partnerships with the civil society. (CG/transl.jl)