ISLAMABAD, June 11: The World Bank will provide $40.80 million interest-free credit to Pakistan for boosting the country’s polio eradication initiative.

Of this amount, $20 million will come through the International Development Assistance, $16 million from the Japanese International Cooperation Agency and $4.8 million from the UN children’s fund grant.

An agreement to this effect was signed by World Bank country director John W. Wall and economic affairs secretary Dr Waqar Masood Khan here on Wednesday.

Pakistan has initiated polio immunisation, as part of the expanded programme started in 1994, with national immunisation days and the efforts were intensified by introducing house-to- house immunisation by trained vaccinators in 2000.

The country has also conducted cross-border immunisation activities with Afghanistan and Iran since 1997. The success of the programme was reflected in the declining number of confirmed polio cases from 1803 in 1993 to 98 cases in 2002.

The project will support Pakistan’s polio eradication initiative for a period of three years, beginning on June 30. The project has three components: procurement of oral polio vaccine, supplemental operations and training and surveillance.

The Gates Foundation has agreed to provide funds to an IDA- administered trust fund, the polio eradication trust fund, which will buy down the debt incurred by government for successful implementation of polio eradication projects.