Food aid inflow falls sharply in FY 2014

Talha Bin Habib | Published: March 04, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

The inflow of overall food aid marked a significant fall in the first eight months of the current fiscal year (FY), 2013-14, due to non availability of such support from major donors, officials said.
Bangladesh received only 14,947 tonnes of wheat and 3,059 tonnes of rice from the World Food Programme (WFP) until this February, official data revealed.
But no food assistance came from other important donors, including USAID (United States Agency for International Development), STC (Save the Children), CARE International, ACDI (Agricultural Cooperative Development International), and VOCA (Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance) during the first eight months of the current fiscal (July-Feb).Â Â Â Â Â
WFP provided 13,888 tonnes of rice, while India provided 16,353 tonnes as aid during the FY 2008-09. Â
WFP gave 3,631 tonnes of rice during the FY 2009-10, and 6,150 tonnes during the FY 2010-11. It provided 9,361 tonnes of rice during the FY 2011-12, and 1,440 tonnes during the FY 2012-13.
During the FY 2008-09, WFP provided 41,239 tonnes of wheat, while USAID 7,212 tonnes, CARE 23,000 tonnes, and Australian Aid 28,908. Â
During the FY 2009-10, WFP gave 43,343 tonnes of wheat, while STC and CARE 12,799 tonnes.
During the FY 2010-11, WFP provided 39,368 tonnes of wheat, CARE gave 64,356 tonnes, and CARE, WFP, STC and VOCA jointly gave 52,800 tonnes.
During the FY 2011-12, WFP provided 26,671 tonnes of wheat, and STC, ACDI and VOCA jointly gave 19,979 tonnes.
During the FY 2012-13, WFP provided 17,188 tonnes of wheat, while CARE gave 22,074 tonnes, and STC, ADCI and VOCA jointly gave 90,726 tonnes.
"We are expecting to get more or less 0.1 million tonnes of wheat as assistance from the donors during the FY," a joint secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief told the FE. Â
Bangladesh is one of the least developed, low-income, food-deficit countries with an estimated 40 per cent of the population living below the poverty line.
According to the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) of the government, the key elements in the fight against hunger include improving food security.
The donors provide food assistance to the government to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by improving ultra poor households' food security, nutritional well-being and livelihoods.
Beneficiaries of the food aid include ultra poor women, adolescent girls, pregnant women, lactating mothers, children and men from areas, prioritised on the basis of vulnerability analysis and mapping, including the disaster-affected areas.