DHAKA, July 23, 2020 (BSS) – US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl Miller today visited Kalyanpur slum in the capital and interacted with families there who are receiving food assistance through a new USAID-funded program benefitting 50,000 low-income city dwellers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Miller, joined by Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Md. Atiqul Islam, saw program staff preparing food baskets for delivery and spoke with people purchasing fresh vegetables at a local shop using the program’s cash transfers.
WFP Country Representative Richard Ragan and BRAC Executive Director Asif Saleh, responsible for implementing the program in Kalyanpur and Sattala slums in Mohakhali, also were present during the programme.
“By working together, we are all stronger and can help each other make it through this pandemic,” the USA envoy said during the visit.
Miller termed the program as an example of great partnership the US government has with Bangladesh government and its people, small businesses in Dhaka as well as with organizations such as the World Food Programme (WFP) and BRAC.
He said this new initiative is part of the latest efforts by the U.S. government to provide aid to countries responding to the effects of COVID-19.
This program will provide aid to 50,000 people in these two slums through cash-based transfers to help them meet their food and basic needs, through purchases at local vendors for foods, including fresh vegetables as well as offering deliveries of food baskets for families quarantined when a family member is ill with COVID-19.
Since the beginning of the outbreak, the US government has so far provided over $56.5 million to support COVID-19 response efforts in Bangladesh while it has committed more than $1.5 billion worldwide to fight the pandemic.
The US government, through USAID (US Agency for International Development) has provided more than $7 billion in development assistance to Bangladesh since 1971.
In 2019, USAID alone provided over $200 million to improve the lives of people in Bangladesh through programs that expand food security and economic opportunity, improve health and education, promote democratic institutions and practices, protect the environment, and increase resilience to climate change.