USAID assistance to MPs likely to be slashed

FE Report | Published: February 11, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: February 10, 2014 23:21:06

New mission director of the US Agency for International Development Janina Jaruzelski on Monday said, like all programmes, the USAID programme on democracy and governance is now under re-examination.
The USAID is expecting to reduce its assistance to the members of parliament (MPs) in the light of January 5 election.
She said, the USAID has the understanding that it will now work more with the local government.
"Our main focus is always to help the poor and most vulnerable people of the country. We do recognise the importance of governance and democracy programme and working with the local government," the mission director said during her first meet-the-press at the American Centre. US Ambassador to Bangladesh Mozena was present. The programme was organised to introduce Janina Jaruzelski.
The mission director said USAID programmes are taken on the basis of a broad consensus with the US government. The US will continue development programmes regardless of the political situation to help the poor and vulnerable, she added.
Saying that the US development assistance will continue to be like that of the last year, the head of the US development agency said all the programmes of the USAID are continued for several years. These are refocused and re-examined to address the local needs.
The USAID development assistance to Bangladesh has reached around US $ 6.0 billion and it was $200 million last year, she said. She said it is important to continue the programmes regardless of the political situation to assist the poor and vulnerable people of the society.
When asked what challenges she is facing in her new assignment, Ms Janina laid importance on working on child nutrition as it is affecting health, education and intellectual development. This issue has a long lasting impact on the productivity of the country, she pointed out.
"One major challenge is child nutrition. About 41 per cent under the age of five is a huge number deemed to be stunt. This means they suffer from the consequences of chronic malnutrition over their lives," she said.
The mission director termed Bangladesh's target to be a middle-income country by 2021 as an ambitious goal but said the USAID is anxious to help achieve the goal.
She praised the country's progress in MDGs and said it is one only a few developing countries could achieve.