DHAKA, 19 Dec 2017 (BSS) – The Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China is partnering with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Bangladesh for the first time with a view to helping the numerous families and individuals worst affected by the recent flood in northern Bangladesh recover and return to their normal life.
About 320,000 flood-affected people still in need of support to repair their homes and replace their belongings, an UNDP press release said yesterday.
Through this partnership with UNDP, the Chinese government is providing $4 million to support recovery efforts for 13,910 most flood-affected families in Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Gaibandha, and Bogra districts, which is a part of China’s Disaster Recovery Support in South Asia.
UNDP Bangladesh, in collaboration with the Department of Disaster Management under Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief will facilitate the process of providing emergency shelters and households items to repair their housing and blankets for the upcoming winter months.
Additionally, UNDP is also partnering with UNFPA to ensure that 14,000 flood-affected women and girls receive health packages and 125 health workers receive the emergency health response kits to serve women and girls’ basic health needs.
“China has been increasingly supporting developing countries in humanitarian relief and recovery as well as advance the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. This is partnership is a reflection of South-South Cooperation” said Sudipto Mukerjee, Country Director of UNDP Bangladesh.
He said it is expected that after this first of its kind initiative, UNDP and Chinese Government will explore other areas of collaboration especially relating to disaster management and early recovery in Bangladesh.