The World Bank on Thursday approved a loan package worth US$1.2 billion to support strategic government programs in Colombia.

The Families in Action program, a key part of the package, will receive US$636.5 million to provide assistance to approximately 1.7 million poor families until 2010.

Under the program, if the head of a household promises to send the children to school and provide medical check-ups on a regular basis, his family will get monetary support.

"This loan will help us consolidate the strategy so that Colombia's poorest population and the displaced population have access to basic services such as health and education; also, it supports the program because we will be working in the next stage in the prevention of alcoholism and teenage pregnancy," said Luis Alfonso Hoyos, director of Social Action in Colombia.

The remaining US$600 million will be used to support sustainable development and natural disaster risk management in the South American country.

"The operations recently approved are part of the alliance between Colombia and the World Bank, which seeks to continue promoting social and economic development with environmental protection," said Axel van Trotsenburg, World Bank director for Colombia and Mexico.

"This financing arrives at an opportune moment, taking into consideration the complex global financing panorama," he added.

(Xinhua News Agency December 19, 2008)