NO. 25/08-BDOctober 30, 2008 CDB TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR POVERTY REDUCTION IN JAMAICA Over 150,000 persons in about 130 poor communities in Jamaica are expected to benefit from a project to be financed by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), and the learning environment for more than 9,000 children in pre-primary and primary schools will be enhanced. The Bank will provide a loan equivalent to USD12.085 million to the Government of Jamaica to support the Government in its continuing commitment to raise the living standards of the poor and vulnerable in that country. These funds will be made available to the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) to invest in social and economic infrastructure and social services in poor rural communities throughout Jamaica. The main focus of the project will be the provision of basic infrastructure in the education, health and transportation sectors. It will encourage active community involvement, and beneficiaries will be empowered, through capacity-building interventions, to plan and manage their investments on a sustainable basis. JSIF was established by the Jamaican government in 1995 as an instrument for executing its poverty eradication programme.