FE Report
The government will include an additional 40,000 women from Cox's Bazar in the next cycle of the Vulnerable Group Development (VGD) programme, the country's largest social safety net scheme.
The decision came from a meeting between State Minister of Women and Children Affairs Meher Afroze Chumki and World Food Programme (WFP) Representative and Country Director Richard Ragan on Wednesday, says a press release.
Under the next cycle- from 2019 to 2020- each of these new VGD beneficiaries will receive monthly aid of 30 kg fortified rice.
Ultra-poor women and their families will get 14,400 tonnes of rice, worth US$ 7.2 million, for the next two years.
VGD also provides training on business skills, nutrition and women's empowerment.
Around half the women to be absorbed into the VGD programme are currently involved in another project, Enhancing Food Security and Nutrition (EFSN), being implemented by WFP with support from the government of Australia.
The EFSN provides a vulnerable woman a monthly allowance of Tk1,050 (US$ 12), a grant of Tk15,000 (US$ 180) to start a small business and training on entrepreneurship.
The project covers a third of the rural population in Ukhiya and Teknaf sub-districts and there are plans for substantial expansion, the release added.
"Linking the VGD programme to the EFSN project will make a big difference in the lives of vulnerable women and their families in Cox's Bazar. Their food security will be stable while they undergo training and start up their small enterprises," said Ragan.
Meher Afroze Chumki remarked, "The scenario in Bangladesh today has progressed much. Developing women's skills and empowering women, both at high levels and at the grassroots level, is a priority."
WFP provides technical assistance to the VGD programme, which supports a million ultra-poor women and their families nationwide.
WFP also works to strengthen the production and distribution of fortified rice in the country.
The linkage of these two social safety net programmes will create an opportunity for more comprehensive coverage in Cox's Bazar, where food security and nutrition have been strained by the ongoing refugee crisis.
WFP provides 870,000 refugees in the settlements in Cox's Bazar with a comprehensive food security and nutrition assistance package is delivered to the host community including school meals for 144,000 Bangladeshi children, the EFSN project and a community-based programme to combat malnutrition in young children and pregnant and nursing mothers.
© 2024 - All Rights with The Financial Express
