5 September 2011
DHAKA – A generous cash donation of US$ 10 million (Tk. 75 Crore) from the Government of Japan will allow WFP to provide food assistance to poor and vulnerable communities which are vulnerable to natural disasters and the effects of climate change.
The donation has allowed the purchase of nearly 11,353 metric tons of wheat, 2,400 metric tons of wheat soya blend and 160 metric tons of canned fish which will assist 80,000 extremely poor households - some 400,000 people - to reduce their exposure to disasters and the negative impact of climate change by involving them in asset creation schemes that will make their communities more resilient.
H.E. Mr. Tamotsu Shintosuka, Ambassador to Bangladesh remarked, “We hope the assistance will help poor people of Bangladesh who are the victims of natural disasters and climate change. We are pleased to assist WFP with this donation to help the poorest, most vulnerable and undernourished people of the country”.
This Japanese assistance will help WFP to implement its Enhancing Resilience (ER) programme which aims to build community and household resilience to extreme weather hazards, economic shocks and seasonal hunger, while enabling ultra poor households to enhance their life skills, income earning and resilience to natural disaster by creating human and physical assets. This assistance will also enable WFP to enhance the nutritional status of undernourished children under 5, pregnant and lactating women with supplementary food and nutrition education.
The Government of Bangladesh through Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) ministry will provide a 50 percent matching contribution (Tk. 33 Crore) to the project. The Government is committed to reduce the vulnerability of disaster and climate change victims and wants to ensure the food security of the ultra-poor.
The food assistance will be distributed in 13 food insecure districts including Kurigram, Gaibandha, Bogra, Serajganj, Pabna, Jamalpur, Lalmonirhat, Bagerhat, Khulna, Satkhira, Barguna, Bhola and Patuakhali. The ER projects include construction or repair of embankments, flood and cyclone shelters, road-cum-embankments, drainage, irrigation canals and afforestation activities as well as raising roads and homesteads above flood levels, creating seed beds, and creating emergency livestock paddocks.
“WFP is very grateful for Japan’s generous donation. This donation provides us with the opportunity to support the most vulnerable people in Bangladesh particularly those that suffer the combined challenges of food insecurity, undernutrition and the impact of climate change,” said Christa Rader, WFP Representative in Bangladesh.
The Government of Japan has been one of the key donors to food assistance programmes in Bangladesh. Japan has given approximately US$ 73 million to WFP for operations in Bangladesh since 1999.