UNDP, DFID laud UPPR activities in Rangpur

RANGPUR, Sept 7 (BSS): A high profile delegation of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Department for International Development (DFID) today appreciated the ongoing activities of the Urban Partnerships for Poverty Reduction (UPPR) project in Rangpur city.
They expressed satisfaction over the progress of the project while exchanging views on the project activities with Mayor of Rangpur City Corporation (RCC) Alhaj Sarfuddin Ahmed Jhantu.
The delegation included Team leader of the Extreme Poverty Team of DFID Graham Gass, its Nutrition Adviser Chris Penrose, Evaluation Adviser Fran Martin and Programme Manager Aminur Rahman, Deputy Country Director of UNDP Nick Beresfor, its Head of Communications Syeda Nazneen Ferdousi and Urban Programme Analyst Ashequr Rahman, International Project Manager of UPPR project Per Bertilsson, its National Project coordinator Azahar Ali and Nutrition Coordinator Ruhul Amin.
Member-secretary of UPPR Town Project Board and Superintending Engineer of RCC Emdad Hossain made presentation on the project activities in the meeting in presence of the delegation members, RCC councillors and project beneficiaries.
The Local Government Engineering Department has been implementing the UPPR project through RCC at a cost of Tk 260 million for 30,000 extremely poor slum families of 15 Wards (out of 33 Wards) in RCC since 2009 under management of the UNDP.
The UK aid through the DFID, UNDP and Government of Bangladesh has been funding the project to improve livelihood and life standard of extremely poor urban population, including distressed women and children, through socio-economic uplift programme.
The delegation members talked to the project beneficiaries, leaders of the CDC Town Federation, different CDCs and Clusters and City mayor about their future commitments and steps for sustaining the achieved success under the UPPR project.
The RCC, also President of UPPR Town Project Board, explained the future commitments, plans and steps taken for making the success the project in reducing urban poverty and improving life standard of 30,000 extremely poor slum families.
He expressed gratitude on behalf of the RCC authority as well as the people of Bangladesh to the DFID and UNDP authorities for extending assistance to the poor in achieving the success and sought their further cooperation.
Later, the delegation members attended views-sharing meeting at Churipotti CDC office when the female beneficiaries elaborately narrated how they could change their fortune by achieving success in every sector during the past five years with the project assistance.
Talking to the media workers, Deputy Country Director of UNDP Nick Beresfor and Team leader of the Extreme Poverty Team of DFID Graham Gass expressed their satisfaction and termed the success achieved by the project beneficiaries as tremendous.
They said the extremely poor female beneficiaries and their family members have achieved laudable success in improving their socioeconomic, livelihoods, health, sanitation and nutrition status side by side enhancing women and community empowerment with the project assistance.
They put emphasis on making newer policies by the government and more decentralisation for closer relationships of the local government and poor people to sustain the achievements under UPPR project that will end next year.