$40m UNDP aid for post-flood rehabilitation activities

FE Team | Published: September 28, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

FE Report
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has offered Bangladesh an aid package worth over US$40 million for rehabilitation activities in the aftermath of the recent flood in the country.
A delegation, led by the UNDP Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh, Renata Dessallien, met Thursday the Economic Relations Division (ERD) Secretary, M Aminul Islam Bhuiyan, and placed the aid package to Bangladesh.
The ERD welcomed the UNDP's package offer and said the government would take decision on it after an inter-ministerial meeting with the concerned ministries, official sources said.
Sources in the ERD said that they would sit with the ministries Monday next to identify areas that have been badly affected by the flood.
Meanwhile, during the bilateral meeting Thursday, the ERD Secretary requested the UNDP chief to provide support for overcoming "monga" (famine-like situation) in the northern districts in Bangladesh.
The UNDP was also requested to provide necessary assistance for the monga-hit areas so that the poor people there could be involved in income-generating activities throughout the year, the sources added.
The ERD sources said the UNDP has offered $40.133 million for conducting the relief and rehabilitation operations, particularly the rehabilitation activities in agriculture, health, water supply, sanitation sectors, which were affected badly by recurrent floods during July-September period this year.
The UNDP is contemplating helping the government with the proposed emergency fund to be mobilised from various donors, the sources added.
Renata Dessallien made a presentation at the meeting on the purpose and necessity of such aid package to help Bangladesh recover from the losses and damage caused by the flood.
In her presentation, Dessallien said the first and second spell of floods damaged about 59,435 tube-wells, 81,000 houses, crops on 891,000 acres of land fully and 1.3 million acres partially.
So, the UN is ready to provide additional support to the 22 worst affected districts in Bangladesh by the second wave of flooding, she noted.
Earlier, different UN organisations committed to provide relief materials and funds worth $19.446 million to Bangladesh as emergency flood assistance.
The proposed $40.133 million funds will be utilised in food and cash relief, improving basic social services, generating employment and ensuring shelters and minimising losses in the agriculture sector, the UN chief in Bangladesh said.
According to the UNDP presentation, out of the proposed $40.133 million emergency flood assistance fund, the World Food Programme (WFP) will provide $16.51 million for relief works, World Health Organisation (WHO) $0.99 million for emergency health management, UNICEF $1.738 million for improving education, water supply, sanitation systems and nutrition, the UNDP $17.5 million for employment and shelter, and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) $3.395 million for agricultural development in the flood-hit areas.
The proposed assistance will be utilised in the period between October, 2007 and March, 2008 for post flood-rehabilitation.