DHAKA, Oct 9, 2018 (BSS) – The United Kingdom has announced US$22.25 million supports to help meet the immediate food and nutrition needs of the Rohingyas living in Cox’s Bazar.
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Bangladesh welcomed the new contribution of the UK, said a press release here today.
The UK Department for International Development (DFID) has been a generous supporter of WFP activities in Cox’s Bazar, including an innovative e-voucher programme which allows refugees to purchase a variety of food items at specially designated shops.
DFID has also supported engineering and logistics cluster activities, enabling WFP to preserve humanitarian access during the monsoon period.
This new contribution will support a wide variety of activities within WFP’s response, including in-kind food assistance to over 6,80,000 refugees, e-vouchers for some quarter of a million refugees, and essential nutritional interventions for the most vulnerable.
In addition, Bangladesh will benefit from programmes that support women and their families with a grant for entrepreneurship activities. The contribution also allows WFP to continue the provision of logistics, telecommunications and engineering common services for the entire humanitarian community.
WFP Representative and Country Director, Richard Ragan said, “DFID’s aid allows us to continue to provide urgent life-saving assistance. As we move into the second year of the response, the needs remain substantial. This significant contribution enables us to deliver on the food security and nutritional needs of the most vulnerable who depend on WFP for the daily meal.”
International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said “One year into this latest crisis, it is still difficult to comprehend the depth of human suffering endured by the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people living within the Cox’s Bazar camps.”
“Ensuring that nursing mothers are fed and malnourished children have enough to eat so that they get the best start in life is at the heart of what we do. UK aid through the World Food Programme is providing a vital lifeline to the Rohingya people who have been forced to flee their homes in Burma and are struggling to survive in Bangladesh,” she said.
In Cox’s Bazar, WFP provides food assistance to over 860,000 refugees per month. WFP also supports nutrition and livelihoods interventions in the host community, supporting the most vulnerable people. WFP urgently needs $66 million to continue providing assistance through to March 2019.