ZCZC
BSS-48
GERMANY-UNDP-COX’SBAZAR
Germany to grant Euro 1.1 m for communities in Cox’s Bazar
DHAKA, Sept 16, 2018 (BSS) – Germany will grant Euro 1.1 million to UNDP and UN Women for implementation of ‘Support to Community Stabilization and Resilience’ project in Ukhia and Teknaf upazilas of Cox’s Bazar.
The agreement was signed by German Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Fahrenholtz and UNDP Bangladesh Country Director, Sudipto Mukerjee today at the German Embassy in Dhaka, said a press release of UNDP here.
Shoko Ishikawa, the Country Representative of UN Women, also a partner of the project, attended the signing ceremony along with Kyoko Yokosuka, UNDP Bangladesh Deputy Country Director.
The project will jointly be implemented by UNDP and the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women).
The year-long project aims to establish community security and gender-responsive policing in Cox’s Bazar District, which is reeling under the pressure of the most concentrated and fastest-growing Rohingya crisis in the world, since the latest Rohingya influx in August 2017. The population in the district has more than tripled.
Cox’s Bazar was already struggling, before the influx, to address high levels of poverty – 40 percent higher than the national average. On top of that, government services for host communities are stretched very thin, due to added pressure from the camps, leading to dissatisfaction inside the host community. The influx has further increased pressures on local infrastructure, and tensions are rising even within households.
The project aims to address the impact of the influx on host communities and governance institutions, while promoting social cohesion and stability.
The project will also engage and train local leaders to build their capacities to respond to increasing tensions and grievances, to be effective mediators and to counter radical narratives in their respective communities.
A comprehensive support package will be provided to the Police to improve security, and improve the quality of responses, especially for women and children.
BSS/pr/MKD/KU/2018 HRS