The government of Japan has pledged 452,000 dollars for the construction of schools and equipment for medical emergency centres. The projects will benefit weredas in Southern Nations, Nationalities & Peoples’ and Oromia regional states. The project is set to construct and expand four primary schools in these regional states. Also, the finance will be used to construct a shelter for elderly and disabled people in Shashemene town, south of Addis Abeba, and to procure equipment for the urology and emergency departments at Black Lion Hospital. The construction and expansion of the schools are in areas where access to education is very low, which will go a long way in assisting the government’s effort, according to Erstu Yirdaw, Sports Commissioner. Japan has been assisting Ethiopia in more than 400 projects across several sectors including education, access to clean water and economic development since 1996.