Washington, Sept. 10 - The World Bank approved a US$ 75 million International Development Assistance (IDA) credit to Lanka, which will support the second phase of a community driven development programme that has touched the lives of nearly one million poor Sri Lankans in the three provinces of Uva, Southern, and Sabaragamuwa, a World Bank report said.

The Second Community Development and Livelihood Improvement Project, known also as Gemi Diriya or "the strength of the villages," is active in over 1,000 villages, helping communities identify, prioritize, plan, fund, and implement their own development needs. About 870,000 people in the most remote and poorest villages have benefited from community infrastructure and productive investments such as drinking water, access to roads and bridges, ICT centers, access to credit, markets, skills and income generation.

The second phase of Gemi Diriya will help expand its reach to two more provinces (North Central and Central) and also broaden and deepen the achievements to date. It will especially focus on linking the community institutions to the local governments and addressing accessibility and connectivity constraints that hamper sustainable livelihoods.

New to this phase is the support that Gemi Diriya will provide to two major national programmes - Gama neguma and Samurdhi - which are adopting the community driven development approach and the local governance systems of the project, specifically participatory procedures, community contribution, devolving greater power to communities and building a holistic village development.